Roughing It
by NatureGirl52180
Summary: Odd occurences in the American Rockies bring Lennox, Ironhide, and their team into the wilderness. What's hiding in the deep Montana woods?
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's notes: **__This . . . .was supposed to be a one-shot. I got carried away. _

_**Standard Disclaimer: ** I do not own these characters. I'm just playing with them. No infringement intended._

_Set between ROTF and DOTM_

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><p>Restrained snickering through Ironhide's com acted the prelude to Sideswipe's voice. "You guys have gotta hear this."<p>

There was an audible click in Ironhide's cab as Sideswipe patched them through to the conversation that was going on between his own two passengers. Will shook his head when he heard Sgt. Jon Davies's distinct English accent, a bit too cheerfully exclaim, "Look, Epps! Another deer processing establishment. What's that make? Twelve in the last hour?

However Epps replied, Will missed it. Whatever it was sounded pissed, though. Will looked up into Ironhide's rearview. Sideswipe was close enough to the Topkick's tailgate that he could see Epps seated behind the Corvette's steering wheel, hands gripping it as though he had some control over the vehicle in which he was riding. From the look on his friend's face, Will mused that if Epps really did have any ability to steer, he might very well send Sideswipe careening into any one of the pine trees that lined the highway. Maybe then he would be able to end his suffering.

"And how many X-rated shops have we passed?" Davies was talking again.

"I don't know." Epps sounded like he was grinding his teeth.

"That's how the game is played!" Davies exclaimed. "I count the deer processing establishments, you count the X-rated shops."

"I am not playing games with you." Will had been watching them the whole time, just to make sure Epps didn't pommel the Brit. Epps wasn't watching the road, not that he needed to in the first place. He was instead, giving Davies a death glare so intense, Will was convinced that the other man would simply burst into flames . . . and subsequently scorch Sideswipe's leather seats.

Davies did not burst into flame though. He sat back in the passenger's seat. Instead of a look of remorse, or maybe even fear, there was a gleam of accomplishment on his features, as though proud of the reaction he had gotten from his friend and comrade. And now, he seemed to be waiting for the perfect moment, smirking all the while.

Will was getting a crick in his neck from watching the pair and faced forward to watch the highway. He had just settled himself back into Ironhide's seat when Davies spoke up again. "If you were playing, you'd be winning. Don't you Americans have anything better to do then shoot things and masturbate?"

"What's that mean, 'you Americans'?"

There was a sound like Davies trying hard not to laugh. "Aren't these your people, my friend? Your freedom lovin', flag wavin', banjo pickin' Rocky Mountain brethern?"

Davies was fully aware that Epps hailed from Brooklyn. He loved New York or cities in general, preferring to spend his leave-time frequenting nightspots and staying out most of the night. All humans and Autobots currently present were also fully aware that unless there was a greater than 60% chance of getting to shoot something, blow something up, or order something blown up, Epps really didn't do the Great Outdoors thing. He had made that abundantly clear when Will had announced the assignment.

It only made Davies laugh harder when Epps began to passionately, and with the use of several colorful expletives, illustrate to him that these were not his people.

The odds weren't in Epps favor about seeing some action. This little endeavor was reconnaissance. And while they were searching for signs of Decepticons, even Will had to admit that the odds were going to be slim of actually making contact.

Epps had ended his rant at Davies, but seemed to have more rant to burn. "Damned Old Iron-Ass anyway-"

The com was abruptly cut as Sideswipe astutely shut it down before Epps dug himself a hole he was unaware that he was digging. Will sighed, knowing that the silver Autobot was still on the line. "Sideswipe, make sure they don't kill each other."

There was a hint of laughter in the other's voice as he responded. "Sure thing, Boss. Sideswipe out."

It had been almost five hours from Malmstrom Air Force Base and apparently those three couldn't resist winding each other up. Will had considered hard letting Davies and Epps travel with Sideswipe, seeing as how the Corvette and the 'Limey' were conspiring to make Epps nuts before they had even left Diego Garcia. But, after they put down stateside, Lennox refused to play 'Mom' and separate the squabbling kids. On some level, Epps must have been enjoying the torture. If he wasn't, he would have told Davies to shut the hell up, and Davies would undoubtedly comply.

Ironhide rolled on in silence for a few moments before the mech's gravelly voice resounded in the cab. "Do you believe I am wasting your time, Will?"

The human was silent for a few seconds, truly trying to come up with an answer that would be supportive of Ironhide's suspicions and instincts, but not being overly gung-ho, either. "We're between missions, 'Hide, with nothing coming down the pike in the near future. If you want to check it out, I'm willing to check it out."

"That response did not adequately answer the question."

So much for being diplomatic. Will sighed again, deciding to come clean. "I think it's a longshot."

It was Ironhide's turn to be quiet again. When he did speak, it was with a resigned, but still determined and mulish tone. "Perhaps you are right."

The silence stretched on again, but it was a familiar, understood one. Both the man and the mech knew that there was no more to say at the current time and saw no reason to fill the stillness with unnecessary small talk.

Will watched the mountainous Montana terrain zip past the window as he settled comfortably in the seat, one hand slung over Ironhide's steering wheel for the sake of appearances. Things had changed since Egypt. Before the Fallen had announced the existence of the Cybertronian species to the citizens of Planet Earth, secrecy was always of the highest priority. Operations involving Autobots were conducted under the cover of darkness. Lennox and his superiors had gone to great pains to concoct plausible cover stories when Decepticon incursions had to be dealt with. And when something went wrong, like in Shanghai . . . well, needless to say, Will was happy that for the most part, that was over.

That didn't mean their new situation was any less complicated. Discretion was still necessary for the Autobots to continue to be effective in their new undertakings. Megatron was still out there, and a good many Decepticons, like Barricade, remained unaccounted for. While it was understood that the main role of the Autobots was to continue to defend the planet from them, the Decepticons still seemed to be licking their wounds after the defeat of the Fallen. NEST remained vigilant, but it had been very quiet on that particular front.

If governments of the world were to continue to tolerate their presence, the Autobots knew they were going to have to 'earn their keep', as it were. These days found NEST assisting in rooting out terrorist cells or bringing down corrupt governments. As a Colonel of the United States Rangers and basically an ambassador to the Autobots, it put Lennox in a tricky place. He was using powers of diplomacy he never even knew he possessed.

Optimus Prime refused to undertake any mission that he didn't feel was justifiable. Getting bogged down in human politics and pettiness wasn't going to happen and getting caught up in squabbles over oil fields and other such nonsense was not an option. As much as the leader of the Autobots wanted to help, he knew better than to be swayed by politicians with a grudge. Since Will had been involved from the beginning and "proved himself worthy" as Ironhide had put it, it often fell to him to try and explain to members of Congress, politicians from around the world, and even the President of the United States, that their Cybertronian allies weren't pawns to be used in human bids for power over other humans. Lennox had also spent a good amount of time assuring those same people that the Autobots weren't here to rule over the human race like some group of metal deities. They would help where they could, but they would ultimately decide how and when they would assist.

Lennox had actually trotted out the old joke about 900 pound gorillas and where they sat. After all, the principle was the same.

It wasn't just politicians to deal with either. There were also those select civilians that the NEST team had affectionately termed, 'The Crazies'. It seemed every alien buff and conspiracy theorist in the known universe felt some sort of vindication about being proven right about life on other planets. The Pentagon, that Holy Shrine to All Things Conspiracy, was inundated with thousands of calls, letters, and emails daily. Some were from religious groups proclaiming that the Cybertronians were the harbingers of the apocalypse. Others came from special-interest groups berating the government for not allowing full disclosure where the Autobots were concerned. Some of it was just fan mail. A lot of it was just paranoid citizens trying to convince officials about various conspiracy theories that were too varied and numerous to name.

There was actually a department now, completely relegated to dealing with fielding these inquiries and reports, and Will, thankfully didn't have to be bothered with 98% of it. Occasionally, someone down at the good ole 'Department for Alien Affairs' would pass along something particularly creative or amusing. And, sometimes, even something that might just be plausible.

When this one had popped up in his email, Lennox noted the subject line, "Marginally Plausible- Take a Look". He had, and while he highly doubted this was a matter for NEST, he did have to admit it had more merit than the guy who thought the squirrels in his yard were Decepticon spies.

The message was short and to the point, and on the 'Crazy Scale', the wording rated well into the 'sane' levels. It was from a wildlife biologist in Montana who had noticed a section of the park she was conducting research in had been violently and inexplicably deforested, seemingly overnight. They had gone through all of the other channels including the local police, the United States Forestry Service, and the US Geological Survey. No one had been able to offer an explanation.

_I know this probably sounds insane, _the author had written, _but I have spent my entire life in these woods and I have never seen anything like this. To paraphrase the old saying, I have eliminated all of the impossible. I am left with the improbable. I am just asking for verification if alien involvement is a possibility at all. If not, than I will look for the next improbable scenario._

It was signed by an Allison Brody of Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

Though Will couldn't for the life of him come up with a reason for why Decepticons would be interested in stripping trees from Montana mountains, he had learned rather suddenly about four years earlier, that there were a great many things that he didn't understand. Obeying the little voice in his head that had yet to steer him wrong, Lennox had rounded up the Autobots from around the base and presented the information to them.

The debate had gone on for some time. Ratchet couldn't see how Decepticons might gain anything by destroying a forest. But Ironhide had argued vehemently that they couldn't completely discount Decepticon involvement. Ratchet had thrown out question after question to the Weapon's Specialist in an effort to illustrate that there was clearly no basis for the suspicions. Ironhide had only responded that he knew. For whatever reason, he knew that whatever had done this was not of the Planet Earth.

After they had gone back and forth for a time, Optimus finally spoke, "Colonel Lennox, what is your take on this situation?"

Will had taken a moment to study Ironhide's hard set faceplates before looking back to the printout of the email in his hand. "This lady sounds like a rational person. I'm not a psychiatrist, but she doesn't sound like a lunatic."

"So, there is a possibility for concern?"

Will had grinned wryly at that, "Anything's possible, right?"

He probably could have sent someone else. The US government, in conjunction with several other world governments, was in the process of retrofitting four bases around the world for Autobot use. Diego Garcia, being as remote as it was, was no longer a suitable base of operations for NEST's new role in the military. Will, as base commander, had been in the midst of stowing and squaring away all of the transports, computers, and gear that needed to be shipped to the new bases. He was also on the coms half the day, coordinating efforts with on-site base commanders, insuring that each of them had a working understanding of what was required to comfortably house Cybertronians. He'd been going day and night for months.

Of course, the reasons he should have been staying were the exact reasons he needed to be going. What it came right down to was, Will Lennox needed a break.

Optimus had agreed to send Ironhide and Will had asked for Sideswipe, just in case. There were some newer 'Bots earthside now, a spastic engineer named Wheeljack, and a slightly uppity Spec Ops mech designated 'Mirage' (though for whatever reason, Sideswipe had started calling him 'Dino'). Optimus had suggested sending one of them along as part of indoctrination into Earth-culture, but Will preferred to stick with a devil he knew. While Sideswipe could be a pain in the ass, especially in Ironhide's ass, Will knew he could rely on the 'bot to get the job done. Aside from which, he genuinely seemed to like interacting with humans and took to it a bit more naturally than some of his comrades.

For the sake of his own sanity, Will had decided to take Epps and Davies along, too. NEST was in the midst of a complete reorganization, rotating in new staff and re-designating a lot of the old staff. Once again, Will found himself trying to break in new subordinates and get them acclimated to their working environment in addition to the base shifts. After months of dealing with it, Will had decided that this 'road trip' offered an opportunity to leave all of that crap behind. Epps and Davies would provide the necessary backup without all of the questions.

Of course, when he had announced this to the pair, he got two completely different reactions.

"You can't be serious." Had been Epps response, raising an eyebrow as he read the orders. "We're dragging ourselves to the middle of nowhere to look at trees?"

Davies had grinned, obviously not really taking this seriously, either. "I've always wanted to see America! We can camp out, cook food over an open fire, sing songs-"

"There is something seriously wrong with you, dude." Epps had shot back before turning to his CO, "Why are we even bothering with this?"

Will shrugged. "Ironhide was pretty insistent that we check it out."

Epps snorted. "Figures."

"Hey, it's either this or hang around here packing gear," Will had pointed out.

Admittedly, he hadn't expected Epps, Davies, and Sideswipe to be quite this cavalier about the whole affair. Epps was just surly about his situation. Davies was occupying himself by plucking Epps nerves as much as possible, and Sideswipe was unconcernedly amused by the whole thing. Lennox supposed that he should come down on the whole bunch of them, but decided it really wasn't worth the effort. He knew them all well enough to know that when the time came, he could rely on them all to do their jobs admirably.

Even if they had managed to make each other nuts in the meantime.

"_Sideswipe to Ironhide_," the com came to life again.

"Ironhide: go ahead"

"_We are almost there, right?"_

"Two miles. Why?"

"_Cause I don't want Epps to break one of my windows when he throws Davies out."_

Will snorted. "Just help him out and roll the window down, Sides."

As he spoke, Will could see the sign announcing the main entrance for the Chayton State Park. Parked near the sign was a black and white police cruiser, the blue and red lights spinning lazily. The words 'County Sheriff' were emblazoned on the side.

Upon their approach, the driver's side door opened and an older man in a uniform stepped out, reaching back into the interior to grab a well-worn Stetson and settle it over thinning, gray hair. He hooked his thumbs through his belt loops, framing his slight paunch and with lazy strides he crossed in front of Ironhide. As they got closer, he finally raised hand, signaling for them to stop. The mech complied, rolling down his driver's side window so Will could talk to the officer.

"Park's closed." The man said before Will could identify himself. " 'Fraid you'll have to turn around."

"I'm Col. Lennox." Will wrested the wallet from his pants pocket and flipped it open to flash his military ID. "I'm looking for an Allison Brody."

The cop was silent for a moment, his eyes flicking over Ironhide's frame before looking to the Corvette idling behind them. "Huh, you boys spending the entire military budget on fleet vehicles?"

Will had expected the question. "Slim pickings at the rental place."

The cop made the "Huh" sound again before speaking, "Thought maybe had signed a deal with Chevy or something."

As much as protocols had relaxed over the last few months, it was imperative that Will only involve as many people as necessary. The more he talked with this cop, the greater the chance something would slip. The last thing he needed was for the general populace to find out that Autobots were in the area. It would be huge news in such a rural place. And Will just knew if this cop put together the pieces, the entire county would be in the know in under an hour.

"Officer," Will took a second to read the nameplate on his jacket, "Thompson. We're on a schedule. Where can I find Ms. Brody?"

The older man gave him a slightly irritated look, but reached for the two-way radio hanging from his belt. Depressing the button he spoke into it. "Hey, Ben."

After a few seconds, there was a static-laden reply. "Yeah Dave?"

"Them boys from the Army are here," Thompson replied, "you should see what they're drivin-"

"Send 'em on up to the visitor center." Apparently, this 'Ben' person had dealt with Officer Thompson and his suspicious curiosity on more than one occasion. The voice snapped through the radio decisively, indicating that he was not interested in debating the matter.

Thompson looked distinctly unhappy as he stepped back. "You heard him. Follow the road on up."

The words "Thank you" were barely out of Will's mouth before Ironhide lurched forward, his tires squealing a bit on the asphalt as he tried to leave the nosy man behind him as quickly as possible. Behind them, Will noticed that Sideswipe let Ironhide get a fair distance from him before peeling out himself, speeding madly past the cop just to be spiteful. Ironhide growled in the com, "Careful."

There was some sort of twittering and buzzing. Sideswipe had just transmitted something to Ironhide in Cybertronian that he didn't want the humans to understand. Will felt the cab shudder around him in what he knew was a wave of annoyed rage. "That's one, punk."

The road changed to gravel shortly after then main gate and climbed steadily as they drove on. It twisted back on itself a couple of times before depositing them along a ridge that gave them a spectacular view of the Rockies. The mountains stretched on towards the horizon, sharp peaks of green that surrounded them on all sides. It was breathtaking.

"Your planet is very changeable." Ironhide's voice held a bit of awe as he spoke. "Some places are so flat and empty. Here, it is varied and full of life."

"That it is." Will inhaled deeply the scent of the thick pine woods through the still-open window. "I guess it's a lot different than Cybertron."

"Yes." For a moment, only the sound of gravel crunching under Ironhide's tires filled the cab. "But it is not displeasing. I believe I like these . . . mountains."

Will spared a half-smile for his friend. He never ceased to enjoy seeing his home world through the eyes of his new allies. It often gave him a new appreciation for things he had a habit of taking for granted.

A large, log cabin-like structure came into view around the next bend. It was a deep rich cedar color that seemed to meld seamlessly with the shadows of the tall, stately pines that surrounded it. The simple architecture was inviting, not in any way overbearing or ostentatious. A sign near empty parking area announced that they had arrived at the Chayton Visitor Center.

Standing on the wrap-around porch were two figures. One was a tall man with a receding line of salt-and-pepper hair. He was fit, and bright green eyes stared out sharply from his craggy features. He was clad in what Will assumed was the uniform for the Montana Park Service; khakis and a work shirt with the state's seal emblazoned on the shoulder.

Beside him was a woman, maybe about thirty. She was short and slender, but with an air of wiriness about her, as though she were a lot stronger than she looked. Reddish-brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. There were sunglasses over her eyes, but unlike her companion she wore no uniform. She was wearing jeans and a vest over a dark red shirt.

Ironhide pulled into the parking space nearest the steps, popping the driver's side door for Will as the gear shift slid to 'Park' and the engine cut out. Sideswipe swung in on the other side of Ironhide as Will stepped out and stretched.

Cautiously, the pair had begun to descend the stairs. The woman led the way. "Colonel Lennox?"

"Hi." She had already extended her own hand and Will was surprised to find her grip firm and strong; a good indicator of a confident person, as far as he was concerned. "I'm Lennox."

"Allison Brody. Fish, Wildlife and Parks." She pushed up her glasses to reveal gray eyes before gesturing to the tall man. "Ben Maddox. He's the head of our law enforcement rangers for Chayton."

Will shook hands with Ben as well before introducing Davies and Epps. "It's only you two here, right?"

"I promise, Colonel." Allison raised her right hand as though swearing an oath. "We did exactly what you asked. All other park employees have been given leaves of absence for the rest of the week. The only rangers on duty are the ones at park entrances making sure that we receive no visitors. We are the only humans in the bounds of the park."

"And it's well over a thousand acres." Ben put in. "Dare I ask what you said to _our _superiors to make them so willing to comply?"

"Trade secret." Lennox had taken a direct, minimalist approach there. He had petitioned the highest ranking official he could, who happened to be General Morshower. Morshower had called the President who had turned right around and called the Governor of Montana and told him the situation, giving just enough details to make the man understand why the cloak-and-dagger spiel was necessary. Montana's governor had complied readily, recognizing that allowing a potential alien threat to run rampant through the state's pristine landscape probably wouldn't win him the popular vote in the next election. It hadn't actually taken much on Lennox's part at all.

Both of them were looking past Lennox now at the big black pickup and the sleek silver Corvette. She pointed and said softly, "Are they . . ."

Will took a deep breath. He might as well get the unpleasantness out of the way first. "Under the conditions of offering assistance, I am honor-bound to inform you once more that whatever goes on here today is top secret. If any information from this encounter is leaked to any source, you will be charged to the fullest extent of the law for charges of sedition and treason against the United States Government."

Ben looked slightly offended by this and Allison had cocked an eyebrow at him, regarding him with mild surprise. Feeling as though he should explain himself further, Lennox allowed his face to soften marginally. "We're sticking our necks out here. All of us. And after everything we've all been through together, I'm not risking any of the soldiers in my command to 'help' people who are just going to turn around and sell them out to a tabloid."

Ben exchanged a look with Allison before saying, "I think we understand that, Colonel."

"And you accept the terms?"

"We do."

"And your report of unexplainable damage to the area was true and accurate?"

"It was." Allison spoke up. She sighed. "Sir, Ben and I fully understand where you are coming from. We appreciate that you came all this way to try and help us."

Ben gave a half-smile at that. "I think we're still in shock, actually."

"We did think you would write us off as crazy." The woman looked at Lennox square. "We're just hoping you might be able to give us answers. It scares the hell out of us that _you _might be able to give us answers. But knowing for certain at least offers the possibility of coming up with a solution."

Will was pretty much convinced that the two were telling the truth. They were at the end of their rope and in need of help, from whatever quarter willing to offer it. As Allison had said in her letter, they had gone through every other scenario and discounted them as possible. They were simply looking for answers.

Still, protocol was protocol. Turning to Sideswipe, Lennox asked simply, "Well?"

"How many squishies are we supposed to have?"

"Manners, you fragger." Lennox repressed a smile at the use of the Cybertronian curse word from Ironhide. "We're supposed to have five."

"Then we're good." Sideswipe replied, indifferent to the larger mech's reprimand. "The only thing on my sensors is our three humans and the other two humans."

"We are not 'your humans'." Epps grouched at Sideswipe's hood. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Lennox pressed on as Sideswipe rocked back and forth on his wheels, his way of chuckling at Epps, he was sure. "No one else?"

"There are about a billion lesser-intelligent organisms running around out there . . . including the one guarding the front gate."

"Punk!"

"That's enough." Will admonished. Ironhide was growling at his subordinate but Will got his attention quickly. " 'Hide?"

With a final grumble, the mech responded. "No fluctuations in heart rate or breathing. Electro-dermal response and blood pressure remained constant for both subjects."

Both Ben and Allison had been struck dumb as soon as Sideswipe had activated his vocalizer. They had watched the exchange between the soldiers and the pseudo-vehicles with increasing fascination and even slight alarm. It wasn't until Ironhide announced his findings that Allison gave a shiver as though an ice cube had slid down her spine and shook herself. She turned to Lennox with an incredulous look. "Did he just run a polygraph on us?"

Will hoped his smile was apologetic. "I can't take chances. I hope you understand."

Ben had recovered from his own stupor and flicked an eyebrow up at Allison. The woman shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Will recognized the body language of two people who had known each other long enough to not need words to communicate. What he gleaned from the exchange was that each was wondering what they had gotten in to, but neither seemed to see any other viable options.

Will gave them the time to work it out on their own as to whether they wanted to keep going or not. After this point, there really was no turning back.

"Shall we get going then?" Allison finally said at length, her way of confirming she wished to maintain the course.

At her words, Ironhide opened all of his doors, an invitation for everyone to pile in. There was a tense few seconds while Ben and Allison looked back and forth between themselves as if each was daring the other to go first. Finally, Allison made a disgusted noise at the man and stalked forward, grumbling something about chivalry being completely and utterly dead. Ben smiled at her grousing and followed, climbing into the backseat as Allison hauled herself into the front passenger's seat.

Epps and Davies took their cue to move out and headed back towards Sideswipe as he obligingly opened his doors as well. Ben watched them climb into the car's interior as Will slid in behind the steering wheel. "It's pretty rough country where we're going. I don't think you all want to take a Corvette up there."

Will snorted. "We don't 'take' him anywhere. He takes himself. Trust me when I tell you he'll be fine."

Allison watched in fascination as Will fastened his seatbelt, his hand nowhere near the ignition when it turned over. As soon as the gear shift slid into reverse and Ironhide began to ease back, the mech's voice resonated through the cab. "Seatbelts, please."

Fumbling for the belt, the woman looked around as though she was waiting for the source of the voice to materialize. "What do we call you?"

"I usually look at the radio when I'm talking to him." Will decided to help her out. "That's where his audio sensors in his alt mode are."

Allison looked like half of what he had just said didn't make sense, but she simply complied. Focusing on the impressive looking radio Ironhide sported, she asked again, "Do you have a name?"

"My designation is Ironhide." He answered, keeping his voice a little less gruff in an effort to not further traumatize their new acquaintances, "And the exhaust-sucking little hooligan behind me is Sideswipe."

"I can hear you." Sideswipe's more mellow tone came through the com.

"Of course you can hear me!" Ironhide snapped back. Allison turned around in her seat to look at Ben again as the mech continued. "I patched you in so I could make sure you could hear me!"

"You can do better than 'hooligan'."

Will raised his voice before Ironhide could retaliate. "You'll have to forgive them, it's been a long trip."

"Wow." Allison shook her head. "I can't believe . . . this is incredible. There are so many things to ask-"

"I'm afraid just about all of it is classified information, ma'am." Will told her with an almost apologetic smile. "It probably wouldn't do any good to ask."

The woman sighed, seemingly a little overwhelmed. "I know. But still . . ."

Ironhide had pulled to the end of the parking lot and eased down the service road that would take them further into the park. "One of you will have to give me directions."

"The closest site is over on the south slope Jack Mountain." Ben spoke over the sound of Ironhide's tires. "Keep going until the road forks and bear right."

"The closest site?" Will asked, looking at each of them in turn. "There's more than one?"

"I found it this morning before you arrived." Allison told him, reaching up to grab the handle above Ironhide's door. They were bouncing along pretty good now. "I was out trying to locate a malfunctioning tracking collar when I found it."

"What are you tracking?" Ironhide asked. Though gruff, Ironhide had a natural curiosity. And since Allison and Ben were complying with the 'don't ask questions' policy, he seemed to be taking advantage and quenching his own inquisitiveness.

"Wolves." The woman smiled a bit, still trying to get used to the concept of talking to a truck. "I've been keeping tabs on the local wolf packs in and around Chayton. Trying to convince the locals that the Big, Bad Wolf isn't going to eat their cows or run off with their babies."

"You've had a lot of backlash?" Will asked. Sarah was big into the environment and wildlife conservation. He recalled vaguely her mentioning something about wolf populations rebounding in the Rockies. The only reason that had stuck with him is because his wife had said something about how scientists were now tracking the animals with GPS devices.

"The biggest anti-wolf campaign comes from hunters." Ben spoke up from the back seat. "They're convinced the increase of the wolf population over the last ten years has contributed to the decline in elk and deer populations."

"They're just whining because all of the dumb animals that were so easy to hunt got killed first." Allison chuckled. "And the smart ones are more difficult to find."

There was a hum from Ironhide's radio. "So the introduction of a second, competitive predator has increased the degree of difficulty in the hunt?"

Allison canted her head to the side, bemused at the alien's assessment of the situation. "That's one way of putting it."

"Does that not increase the thrill of the hunt?"

A real and true smile bloomed across the biologist's face. "Oh, Ironhide. I think I like you already."

* * *

><p><em>I put this up to get some feedback. Anyone interested in seeing where this goes? I'll give it to you if you want it.<em>


	2. Chapter 2

They had gone just a little bit further when Ironhide's com sounded.

"_Hey, Hide_." Sideswipe ignored protocol, and by the tone in his voice, he had done it strictly to annoy Ironhide. "_Guess what?"_

"What?" Ironhide growled back and Will couldn't hide his own smirk.

"_I'm stuck_."

Will looked into the rearview. Sideswipe had picked his way a fair distance up the mountain, given the deplorable state of the access road. It was obvious that the Park Service had four-wheel drive vehicles perfectly suited to the terrain and weren't in the least bothered to spend limited funds on infrastructure. Sideswipe had managed to get his front end wedged in a rut, leaving his right rear wheel suspended just off the ground. Davies had already climbed out and Epps swung down easily behind him.

Ironhide's voice was a study in controlled temper. "You glitch, can you transform?"

"_Sure_."

"How far are we from the site?" Ironhide asked their guests. Will knew that even with the entire area cleared, there was no way he was going to leave Sideswipe exposed and without backup.

"We were going have to walk soon, anyway." Allison said. "We have to go down the mountain a little bit."

"All right, time to abandon ship." Will unhooked his seatbelt and climbed down. The other two followed suit. When their feet were on the ground, he had them all back up, giving both mechs plenty of space.

He had seen the process many times, so he made it a point of watching Ben and Allison as they experienced it for the first time. With a hiss, Ironhide's front quarter panels sprung apart and with much whirring and gushing, the parts rearranged themselves as the mech stood up, reaching his full twenty-five feet and towering over them.

Both Ben and Allison were standing slack-jawed, eyes wide in mute shock. Davies snicker caught Will's attention as he and Epps walked up. For the first time all day, the tall, black man was grinning. "Did we look like that?"

"Hope not." Davies put in. "They look like startled fish."

Ironhide twisted his head, popping a strut in his neck. "You all always have that look on your faceplates."

"Whoa." Was the only response Allison was able to give.

Ironhide was about to speak when Sideswipe caught his attention. "Ow! Hey, little help?"

Muttering to himself, the big mech moved off. Sideswipe had been able to transform for the most part, but he still had about half of his front end caught in the ditch. The ground shook beneath the human's feet as Ironhide walked over, grabbed hold of Sideswipe's front end and pulled up so that the mech could finish the process of transforming.

Will watched the two Cybertronians. Sideswipe stood up grinning, his armor rippling as he apparently relayed something to Ironhide over their internal com. Whatever it was made Ironhide flare his own armor out in an agitated fashion that Will and the others had become all too familiar with. The old man had had enough of the pup's attempts to bait him. The noise that he made most closely resembled a snarl as he stepped forward to loom over the smaller 'bot. Quickly, Sideswipe responded, his plates smoothed and stilled as he stooped his shoulders a bit.

After a few seconds, Will realized that he was not the only one watching. But Allison was doing more than just watching. She was observing. Arms folded in front of her, she had leaned forward slightly, pushing those sunglasses up again so she could see better. Her body was so still and her gaze so intense, Will could almost see gears turning in her skull.

Will glanced at Epps who shrugged slightly in response. Ben, on her other side, was merely grinning. "At least we're not running away, screaming in terror, right?"

"It's pack behavior." Allison looked to Will, Epps, and Davies in turn, clearly excited. Ironhide had finished putting Sideswipe back in his place and were starting to approach the humans again. "The posturing and dominance displays, the flaring-" She mimicked Ironhide's plate motions with her hands.

"Yeah," Davies kind of chuckled at her, " 'Hide does that a lot when he's angry . . . 'specially at the Colonel."

"I do kind of 'ruffle his feathers', sometimes." Will agreed.

"It would be fascinating to study the social interactions of an advanced extraterrestrial species." Allison was on a roll now. "Just to know-"

She was cut off by a harsh blast of warm wind that made her gasp. Allison looked up to where the big, black mech now stood over all of them. Will suppressed a smile when he realized Ironhide had his 'bull' face on. "I don't appreciate being analyzed, woman."

"S-sorry!" But from the look on her face, any fear that she might be feeling was completely outweighed by a sense of overwhelming curiosity and delight.

"Let's get under the trees." Will took back the reins of the operation and began to move towards cover. "I don't want some random plane to spot Sideswipe and Ironhide."

Ben led the way down the mountain. The late spring day was warming a bit but as they left the road for the closeness of the trees, an early-morning chill returned to the air. Epps zipped up the fleece jacket he was wearing and Davies pulled a pair of gloves from his pockets.

Fortunately, except for the trees, vegetation was sparse. Aside from slipping on the pine needles, the walking was easy. Even the Cybertronians were having a simple enough time. Sideswipe, being a good ten feet shorter than Ironhide, was able to follow the humans' path along the slope. The larger, broader mech had to be a bit more creative, finding larger spaces between trees to slide through and slapping away lower hanging branches.

Within a couple of moments, Will stepped out onto what could be most accurately described as a battlefield.

They emerged at the top of the site. It was about four acres of complete and utter destruction. The place looked like a battlefield. Trees had been snapped off at the base or halfway up the trunk. Many were ripped up by the roots, leaving deep holes and explosions of dirt. Limbs and branches littered the ground. Here and there, he could see a small or scrubby tree still clinging on to life, but for the most part, nothing was spared. The land had been ravaged.

In his career as a soldier, he had stood in many places like this; places that were blown to hell and silent. It was lifeless, a stark contrast to the wooded habitat that surrounded them on all sides. In the pit of his stomach, he felt the familiar stab of nausea. Even though it was unclear yet as to what had caused this, he couldn't help but feel that it was a senseless, vicious, and cruel act; someone taking what they wanted or needed without regard for the repercussions.

"Geez." Epps breathed beside him. "Looks like a tornado came through here."

"How was the weather yesterday?" Will asked as Ironhide and Sideswipe pulled scanners from their subspace. Both mechs began to move in opposite directions, keeping optics on the devices Wheeljack had put together for them before their departure.

"Clear." Ben returned. "It's been clear all week. This isn't storm damage."

"Human machines couldn't do this." Epps had moved out into the wreckage, picking his way towards a broken tree. "These are just totally snapped . . . like an animal."

"Mastadon haven't been seen around here for a few thousand years." Allison responded dryly. She had sobered again. The initial shock of meeting the Autobots face- to- face had worn off and the current weight of her worrying situation was coming down on her again. "There's nothing that big in this park that could do this sort of damage."

"And even if it were a machine, there are no paths in or out, right?" Davies was watching the mechs in their perimeter scans. "No huge path to indicate someone drove a bloody big tractor through the woods?"

Allison shook her head and began to follow both him and Epps as they started to move away and explore a bit. "I've been all around them. It's like whatever did this just flew in, tore the place up, and flew out again."

Ben crouched down near a fallen limb and Will picked his way towards him. "And who or what ever is doing it must have a use for the lumber." He pointed to the ground. "It looks as though this limb was sawed off. There's sawdust here and the main body of the branch is gone."

Now that Ben mentioned it, Will could see that there was a disproportionate number of broken trunks and stumps to fallen trees. A good amount of the tree trunks and stout limbs were gone. What remained were the fragile upper limbs, too small to really be a use for anything. "What kind of trees are these?"

Ben squinted up at Will in the mid-day sun. "They're all conifers, lodgepole pines, mostly. There are a couple of quaking aspens and chokecherries." He pointed to the untouched trees as he stood up. "We didn't think much of it though. Those are basically all we have at this elevation. And those trees are too small to bother about."

"Is there a use for the lumber?" The more he looked, the more Will knew this was not the work of anyone with any sort of professional knowledge. What shuffled to the top of his thought process was vandalism. It seemed a little elaborate, and the offenders would have to be dedicated, but it was quickly becoming his most possible theory.

"Framing jobs and light construction," Ben stood up. "but I gotta say, if this is a lumber company, they hired some of the most confused lumberjacks I've ever seen."

"What do you mean?"

The ranger gestured vaguely to a pit near where they stood. The thing had to be close to ten feet deep and more than that wide.. "The roots are gone off of a lot of these trees. Yanked up and either sawed or broken off about midway down the body of the tree."

Ben was blowing holes in the vandalism theory very quickly. Will looked up at some of the pines on the perimeter of the destroyed site. They were fairly large, towering at least a hundred feet over his head. There was simply no way humans, even with the use of machines, could rip these trees from the ground. And why go to the trouble to take any part of the tree, especially the roots? How would they have transported them?

Ben had gone only a few steps when he stopped. Will was about to ask him what was wrong, when he softly and almost dejectedly, uttered a soft, _"Damn."_

Will stepped up to join him. The man had put his hands on his hips and was looking towards the ground. Will followed his gaze and felt his heart seize for a couple of beats when he saw what had caught the other's attention. Beneath the limbs and branches, he could just make out the head and front feet of a wolf. The lips were pulled back in a frozen grimace, revealing the long, white teeth. The eyes were dull and lifeless. The gray coat was matted with blood. As Ben carefully removed the branches, Will could see that the animal had been almost cut, or more accurately torn in half, ragged edges of flesh framing the creature's entrails as her rear end twisted away from the rest of her at an unnatural angle.

"Hey Al." The older man's voice was tinged with remorse, sounding tired, "I found your transmitter."

A knowing grimace crossed the woman's face as she began to trudge towards them. For a moment, Will almost reached out to stop her, but the resigned determination in her face stilled his hand. Allison took in the gore as she walked up. She stopped and stared for a moment, letting her brain process what she was seeing. Then, with a sigh, she crouched down.

She moved with efficiency, removing the bolts that held the specially made collar around the wolf's neck. Allison's demeanor was reserved, professional, and almost distant as she slid the thick leather collar and the transmitter housing from beneath the body.

The clearing was quiet as she continued to stare at the animal. Not even the ground shuddering around them as Ironhide approached caught her attention. After a few more seconds, Allison gave a deep sigh and stood, "What a waste."

Will noticed Ironhide watching Allison intently as she turned to Will. "Look, Ben will have to show you the second site. Odds are good this one has pups stowed somewhere. I gotta go look at the data and see if I can figure out where."

Not giving any of them a chance to respond, she started up the mountain, back the way they had come. Will was about to call after her to offer a ride when Ironhide caught Sideswipe's optic. He jutted his chin in the direction of the woman's back.

Sideswipe had still been running his scanner about a hundred yards up the slope from where everyone else now stood. He looked for a second as the woman moved past him, then subspaced his scanner without comment or question. Allison was moving quickly, but he caught her in about three strides. "Watch out!"

"Wha-agh!" She gave a startled scream as Sideswipe grabbed her gently and reached up to settle her on his shoulder plates, never faltering a stride as he headed back towards the road. The woman grabbed for the edge of his armor, trying to readjust her center of balance. Her voice was shaky and scared when she spoke. "You don't have to do this."

"Don't argue." Sideswipe said as he stepped back into the trees. "You'll just get me in trouble. Where are we going?"

The men and Ironhide watched them go, their voices growing fainter as Sideswipe hurried up the slope.

Epps shook his head. "Dedicated, isn't she?"

"Al's a good kid." Ben said with a sad smile. "She just can't stand it when something's hurting and suffering and she can't make sense of it."

_Sounds like someone else I know. _Will turned to Ironhide. "Whaddya got?"

There was a grumble from the mech. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Epps repeated. He looked from Ironhide to Will. "So it isn't 'Cons."

"Wait," Ben held up a hand to stop the conversation before pointing at the device in Ironhide's servo. "What does that contraption do?"

"It measures radiation values and residual energon traces." Will explained. "Theoretically, if Decepticons had landed in this area, both of those signatures would be left behind."

Ben took a step back from Ironhide. "They're radioactive?"

"It's a result of traveling through space." Will patiently explained. "It doesn't take long for the ion signatures dissipate completely after they land."

"So, is it possible that these 'Decepticons' landed here years ago and are just now destroying the woods?"

One of the working theories was that Decepticons had crash landed in the park and thus caused the destruction. But the damage was completely inconsistent with such an occurrence and the appearance of this second site debunked that theory. If there were an all-out Decepticon invasion, the defense satellites would have picked up on it. Will had been willing to entertain the notion that one unfriendly might have slipped by, but an entire brigade was another story entirely.

Besides that, Will and the others had seen enough of that to know that Cybertronian landings usually resulted in fire. That was clearly not the case here. None of the trees were scorched and the ground exhibited no signs of impact. He took the time to explain this to Ben.

"So, this isn't a landing site?" Ben asked, looking to each of the soldiers.

"It's unlikely." Davies picked up the thread, "This doesn't fit any pattern we've observed so far. The lack of an energon signal is really the most telling thing."

"Maybe that dissipated, too." Ben offered. Clearly, he wasn't going to give up on this theory without a fight and Will knew that it was because he had no likely alternatives warming up in the bullpen.

"Energon burns clean and quick." Will agreed, "but that sensor that Ironhide has is one of the most sensitive known to human kind. It should be able to pick up energon readings up to ten days after a Cybertronian has been in an area. According to you, this probably happened last night."

"And we are seriously lacking a motive here, too." Epps spoke up. "Can't figure what Decepticons would gain by doing something like this."

Ben was quiet for a second, realizing he was being out-reasoned, but not willing to relent just yet. "What about a random act of terrorism? Just to make everyone nervous."

"Not their style. Too remote and too understated." Davies replied. "They can, and have, done a lot worse."

Silence hung heavy for a few seconds as Lennox could feel Ben giving in. "So it's not aliens? You're sure of that?"

"No."

All four humans looked up to Ironhide and for the first time Will noticed just how quiet he had been through the conversation. He was looking at the next mountain over the fallen and destroyed trees, but his optics slid back and forth as if looking for something no one else thought to look for.

" 'Hide?"

"The results are not to my liking, Will." Ironhide responded. "This is not the work of humans. It is beyond your capabilities."

"The scanner-"

"I know what the scanner says." Ironhide snapped, but remembering who he was talking to, he softened. "There are pieces missing."

Will didn't want to admit it, but he had to agree and even as he had been laying it out for Ben, he knew that he had not been satisfied with the conclusions either. If he ordered everyone to move out and head back to the transport, he knew that he'd regret doing it. Whatever was going on out here was probably not truly an assignment for his team, but he was very much aware that these people had no one else to turn to.

They had three days until they were due back at Malmstrom to catch a ride back to Diego Garcia. He saw no reason not to at least make an attempt to figure this mess out. Between their equipment and the Autobots, NEST stood a better chance of solving the problem than anyone else.

"Okay, 'Hide." Will relented before turning to Ben. "I think you better show us the second site."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: **__I LOVED writing this chapter. I had fun with it, I had fun with the characters. This is where this supposed 'one-shot' started. As you can see, it evolved into a much more complex beast._

_And I know I said updates would be slower than other stories, but I have no self-control. And with a few of the reviews, I got "I think I might have an idea what's going on". So, I couldn't help myself. _

_And updates are going to slow down a little. The rest of this story is pretty much done, but it needs tweakin'. The last third of a story is always a bit hard for me, and stuff gets a little complicated later. I want to spend a little time making this blended and smooth._

_Read and enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"I have wolf hair in my interior." The glow of the campfire reflected off of Sideswipe's shiny silver shin plates as he strode within the limits of its reach. The last rays of the sun were painting the sky in brilliant reds, purples, and orange. "Davies, what the hell are you doing?"<p>

The man in question had found the longest, droopiest over-sized branch he could and stuck a marshmallow on the end of it. He was dangling it over the fire, looking more like an overzealous fisherman than anything else. "I'm burning processed sugar on a stick, mate."

"Why?" The silver mech asked as he settled behind the log on which Davies and Epps were perched.

"Beats the hell out of me." Davies passed the long, limp stick to the Autobot. Sideswipe took it with a thumb and forefinger, giving the man a funny look. Davies got up and searched for a few minutes before he managed to find another stick suitable for marshmallow burning purposes. "Americans do it for fun."

Epps watched warily as Sideswipe examined the contraption and then began to hold it like Davies had been doing moments before. From where Will was finishing up stowing gear, he smiled. It was one of the most ridiculous things he had ever seen: two grown men and a big robot all toasting marshmallows together.

"Do you have any idea," Epps seemed less than pleased with this Jet-Puft moment as he addressed his English counterpart, "just how much I hate you right now?"

Davies smiled beatifically in response.

It was becoming clear that Davies 'make the best of it' attitude was starting to seriously grate on Epps nerves again. What was also becoming clear was that Davies was aware of this and intended to exploit it to the utmost of his capabilities. After the long day they had just had, they probably needed time to decompress and Will let them have it.

The search of the second site had yielded nothing, even though Lennox and the others gave it a thorough sweep, taking pictures and digital images to send back to Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Diego Garcia's resident primate techies. The sun had sunk low in the west by the time they had arrived back at the Visitor's Center. Ben had offered the team the use of one of the rental cabins not too far from the center or the cottage that Ben lived in on-site. The cabin had no electricity or plumbing, but there was plenty of space for Ironhide and Sideswipe to be comfortable and under cover.

Ironhide and Will had set up the satellite uplink and made a thorough report to Optimus, and Will had taken the time to outline his plans for the following day. He would send Epps and Sideswipe on a little recon beyond the boundaries of Chayton with the energon sensor to see if they could come up with anything. Meanwhile, Davies, Ironhide, and himself would continue to investigate the sites and surrounding areas for more clues as to what was going on while they waited for more information from the tech team.

Optimus concurred and bid them all a safe night. Ratchet promised whatever information they could glean from the data as quickly as they could manage before Will had signed off. It wasn't much, but at least Will felt like they were trying to do something. He just wasn't sure what.

A quick trip to the small grocery about half an hour away provided them with suitable provisions. There hadn't been much to choose from, but considering the kind of survival situations he and Epps had managed to live through over the years, canned vegetables, candy bars, and a three day supply of hot dogs really was living high on the hog.

Will had seen Davies make his own surreptitious purchase while Epps had be preoccupied with procuring beverages. The man had even gone so far as to rush outside with the bag of marshmallows and stow them under Ironhide's back seat just so Epps would be none the wiser.

Ironhide pulled the last of the human weapons from his subspace and handed them to Will. Not for the first time, Will silently thanked whoever had designed Cybertronians. Subspaces were a thing of beauty when carting heavy firepower.

The big mech sat and leaned back gently against a thick pine calling to his fellow Autobot. "Was your mission successful?"

Sideswipe looked up briefly from his marshmallow as Will leaned the guns right inside the cabin and shut the door. "Don't think Al knows yet. We managed to find the creatures quickly, but one had passed to the Well. There were two more, but they weren't doing so hot."

"Where are the wolf-younglings now?" Ironhide asked.

"A medic near Billings." Sideswipe replied as his marshmallow finally turned to a near liquid state and landed in the fire. "I gave her a ride. Hence the wolf hair in my interior." He gave a little scratch at his chassis as though something were tickling him. "Figured I could get there faster than any human car."

Will couldn't help himself. "Within the bounds of the speed limit, I'm sure."

"Oh, of course, Boss." Sideswipe smirked in a way that told Lennox quite plainly that he was going to be dealing with irate local police officials when this was all said and done.

Ironhide shifted uncomfortably for a second before exventing and finally saying. "You did okay today, kid."

"What? Outrunning the cops?" Sideswipe had watched Lennox when he said it, but seeing as how Will wasn't surprised, the bot was probably a bit disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"No," Ironhide was visibly restraining his anger, "helping the human."

"Oh." Sideswipe shrugged, "no big deal."

"Certainly is a big deal." Davies spoke up, reaching around for the bag of marshmallows. He had obviously decided the moment was getting entirely too heavy. "You earn another marshmallow, mate!"

"All right!" Considering Sideswipe wasn't going to be able to eat the thing, he seemed disproportionately happy about this. The big silver mech dangled the marshmallow over the top of the dancing flames, raising it and lowering it. Apparently Davies had become an expert in the last five minutes because he began to give Sideswipe advice. Epps just shook his head.

Will settled himself on the bottom step of the cabin's porch stairs. Ironhide watched him, the starlight and flames reflecting off of his black armor and blurring his lines, hiding him in plain sight. Blue optics stared out of the darkness at him, reminding Will of some mythical beast that stayed hidden to speak from the shadows. "You are still unsure that we are needed here."

It wasn't a question and it wasn't accusatory. It was a statement of fact. Will shrugged as he leaned on his knees with his elbows. "I don't know, 'Hide. You're right, there are still pieces missing. But Epps is right, too; there's no Decepticon MO here."

Ironhide made a quiet humming before speaking again. "And yet you opted to stay."

"You were pretty adamant." Will pointed out.

"You don't make decisions solely on others' perspective." Ironhide came back immediately. He was right, of course, but sometimes it scared Will how much Ironhide seemed to know him. "What are you seeing?"

Will looked at his hands for a second. "The truth?"

Ironhide didn't speak, waiting. Sideswipe and Davies were arguing about something, but both 'Hide and Will ignored them.

"I see people that need help." Will sighed. "And I see a situation I can't explain to them."

"You like them."

"They're good folks." Will replied. "They're passionate about what they do and it's hard enough to do their jobs without an X-File to work out."

"It is difficult to be a guardian of a place like this?"

Will chuckled a bit at the wording. It was cumbersome, but fitting, somehow. And completely indicative of how Ironhide probably viewed Allison and Ben. "Rec and Parks outfits always have issues; lack of funds, lack of staff. And most days, it probably feels like they're fighting a losing battle."

"How so?"

"Everyone's heard the science, 'Hide. Even you, since Wheeljack and Jolt have taken such an interest in it. Humans are hard on a planet." Will picked up a few rocks at his feet, turning them over in his hands. "People like Allison and Ben are trying to tell the rest of us knuckleheads to conserve and to understand that everything has a place in this world. It's a hard fight. They do it anyway."

Ironhide chuckled a little. "You speak about them like they are warriors."

"I guess they are." Will smiled, remembering a term he had heard somewhere. "Eco-warriors or something. Trying to make the rest of us understand that we didn't inherit this planet from our ancestors and that we're just borrowing it from our kids."

He felt Ironhide shift, cocking his head. "Very poetic logic."

"Yeah well," Will snorted, "I got it from Sarah."

"Hm." There was amusement in Ironhide's voice when he spoke. He liked Sarah. "She is very insightful."

"Especially when she's yelling and winging water bottles at me. Let a guy forget to use the recycling bin one time- It's not funny!" Will could hear Ironhide chuckling. "They had nasty raw chicken parts on 'em. I could have caught salmonella."

Further conversation was halted by a cry of "Incoming!"

A fiery comet of goo arced through the air and thwacked into Ironhide's shoulderplates. Startled, the bot looked down to where the marshmallow still cooked on his armor. Then, doing a slow burn, he looked to where Davies, Sideswipe, and Epps still sat by the campfire. Sideswipe held the now marshmallow-less stick in his servo, trying and failing miserably to look innocent.

Davies was the first to break the silence. With a sputter, he broke into hysterical laughter, leaning over to hide it the best he could. Epps snorted. Sideswipe gave them a dirty look before looking back to Ironhide. "Sorry."

"That's two, Junior." Was Ironhide's only reply.

After holding his glare for a few more seconds to make his point, Ironhide looked to his armor again. The marshmallow was extinguished, but the charred remains still clung to the shiny plates. The mech ran a ginger finger over the crust, trying to remove it without scratching the enamel. Will watched him, trying not to laugh when the digit caught some residual goo and the 'bot growled. He looked for a moment as though he was reconsidering letting Sideswipe off so easily.

Deciding that avoiding World War Three would be the best option, Will hefted himself up and moved towards his friend, stopping by the cooler to grab a handful of ice cubes on the way. He was peripherally aware that Sideswipe was in possession of yet another marshmallow, but since Davies was entertained and Epps seemed grudgingly distracted he let it slide.

"Let me help, 'Hide."

Ironhide growled again, but Will pretty much ignored him and climbed up his shin plates anyway. As expected, the mech held still, unwilling to risk hurting his human friend just to pitch a fit. With practiced ease, Will climbed up over the mech's elbow to reach the mess. Taking the ice, he held it up against Ironhide's armor.

"What the hell?" Ironhide jumped a mile, nearly throwing him off in the process. "Warn a body first!"

"You big metal baboon, knock it off!" Will gruffed back good-naturedly. After their semi-serious conversation a few moments ago, it felt good to just growl at his big metal friend.

"What are you two doing over there?" Epps voice called across the campfire.

"Lennox is rubbing ice on me."

Davies's snort gave way to a new fit of chuckles as Epps responded. "Kinky."

Will took the opportunity to wing one of the cubes at his friend, striking him just above the ear. The subsequent fussing and bitching was immensely satisfying. "It helps get sticky stuff off of just about anything. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Lennox knew he was opening himself up for more vulgar comments with the 'sticky stuff' comment, but he also knew that Epps was very much aware that Will had pitched three winning seasons of baseball at Tranquility High School. If he wanted to keep playing, Will would keep reciprocating with deadly accuracy.

Davies opened his mouth to say something smart, but Epps shook his head. "Ain't worth it, man. Just trust me."

Satisfied that there would be no more comments, at least not ones Will would be able to hear, he turned back to Ironhide. "Look. I'll leave it on only long enough to get this crap to harden so I can get it off. Got a cleaning cloth?"

Will pressed the cubes to the marshmallow again and Ironhide shuddered. Cursing a little in his native tongue, he subspaced a rag and purposefully dropped the oversized cloth on Will's head. The human snorted. "Oh, real mature."

It only took a couple of minutes to get the gunk off. After giving the enamel a final swipe, Will handed the rag back to the mech. Ironhide nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem." As he stood on Ironhide's forearm, Will caught the sound of a far off wolf-howl. The sound was clear and piercing, mournful and beautiful all at once. The soldier felt a shiver go down his spine as he looked through the woods. The moon was up now, casting weird shadows as it fell through the branches. Though he couldn't explain it, he couldn't help feeling as though something or someone was watching them.

Ironhide shared his feeling.

"I know there's something out there . . . I- YOU STUPID LITTLE PUNK!"

Will jumped as Ironhide's roar startled a couple of nocturnal creatures into scattering from their evening roosts. Turning around, Will found Sideswipe was dangling a flaming marshmallow over his mouth.

Ironhide was grinding his dente. "Don't put that in your components!"

"Davies did." Sideswipe answered as if this were a perfectly reasonable rebuttal.

"Davies is a human!" Ironhide roared back. "That's human food."

"Debatable." Davies replied through a mouthful of marshmallow.

* * *

><p>He wasn't sure what woke him up.<p>

All Will knew was he woke with a start with a feeling of unease knotting in his gut. Every nerve in his body seemed to be firing at once. Cautiously, he swung his feet over the side of his bed and reached for his pants.

His senses were heightened, and while it was something that had happened to him many times, it still made him uneasy. If his senses were heightened, there was a need for them to be heightened. There was something out there and whatever it was posed a threat to his unit.

Will thrust his feet into his boots, not bothering with the laces. He shoved them down alongside his ankle and reached for the carbine he had left beside the bed. The modified M4 was a comforting weight in his hands as he stood and cautiously left the room.

Epps was already awake in the room across from his, which only made him tense more. Before, he might have been able to talk himself into thinking he was just being paranoid. But another soldier, a man he knew and whose instincts he trusted as much as his own, was just as alert as he was. They hadn't survived this long by ignoring these signs.

When Will entered, Epps was already pulling on his clothes and reaching for his own weapon. "Something's up."

"Yeah." Was Will's only response.

Epps rooted around in his gear and came up with an earpiece and handset. Will took them, and flicked them on with the thumb of his free hand, settling the handset on his belt and sliding the earbud into his ear with smooth, practiced motions. Epps followed him from the room, doing likewise and grabbing his own weapon.

Davies had crashed in the small living room. Will went to shake his shoulder, but found once again, that the other soldier was already conscious. He was swinging into a seated position and looking for clothing before Will touched him.

While Davies dressed, Will keyed his com. "Lennox to Ironhide."

"Get out here." The mech's voice was low and urgent. Will moved forward quickly toward the front door. They had left only the screen door closed, in case the Autobot's needed anything, all they would have to do was shout.

With a flick, Will undid the latch and stepped out onto the porch, Davies and Epps right behind him, Davies securing his own com as they went. The moon had shifted in the sky, nearly full, but obscured by mountains and trees. The night was dark and clear, the stars shining down starkly from above them.

Both Sideswipe and Ironhide were standing alertly, peering into the darkness, optics glowing with a low low intensity. The lights that completed their alt-mode remained off, lest the glare ruin what visibility they had. Ironhide had positioned himself in front of the cabin, shifting his gaze slowly, looking between the trees. His cannons were powered up and on standby. Will could hear the weapons whirring with power.

Sideswipe was off of the south corner of the cabin. His left servo had given way to his energon blade, but in his right hand he held the scanner he had been using earlier.

"It's quiet out here."

Part of Will wanted to make a smart comment about it being 'too quiet' in response to Epps, but he found he couldn't. The corny statement had never been truer in his mind. Even with the Autobots' presence earlier, there had still been signs of life: owls had hooted, there had been rustling in the leaves, and the forest had a lived-in feel about it.

There was none of that now. It was silent and void of life. There were no crickets and no night birds. There was simply the feeling that something was watching . . . and waiting.

Will shouldered his firearm and moved down the steps of the porch, moving to stand between Ironhide and Sideswipe. Epps took Sideswipe's other flank and Davies moved to the other side of Ironhide. They did it with no verbal communication, each just taking the position to adequately cover the others. It happened almost in sync, executed with a seamlessness borne of hours of training and drills.

And the knowledge that they needed to watch each other's backs.

Will's eyes had adjusted to the point where he could see the shapes, but in the darkness, he knew his mind would play tricks on him. For a second, he thought he saw something move, but instantly told himself it was his imagination.

But Ironhide hitched beside him. He didn't speak, but sent a message to the other bot via the internal com. Updates to the human coms, compliments of the tech team, allowed the humans to hear it. "_Sideswipe, anything?"_

_"Yeah, a good set of the heebie-jeebies_." The mech replied in the same fashion, "_but nothing on the scanner_."

"Did you see something?" Will whispered low, knowing Ironhide's sensitive audios could pick it up

The Autobot's vision was vastly superior to his. It surprised Will when he responded via the com. "_I don't know_."

The bots stood still. The humans didn't breathe. Will ordered his muscles loose and tried to control his flight or fight response. His brain was clear and calm, waiting for the threat to present itself.

A clicking noise caught his attention. He felt Ironhide look as well. Sideswipe and Epps had both looked in the same direction. It had come and gone. Metallic and unnatural. . . .

"CONTACT!" It was Davies who yelled. All Will could see was a flurry of motion and the glint of something metallic in the starlight. The pop of Davies weapon sounded as something charged the man. He continued to fire, backing up as whatever it was hissed and Will heard the snap of metal jaws. Trees cracked and splintered as something unearthly roared a challenge into the night.

The woods were flooded with light as both Sideswipe and Ironhide hit their spotlights. Will was blinded, shielding his eyes with his hands. There was the sound of metal on metal beside him as something took Ironhide to the ground. The mech growled in anger and effort as he wrestled with whatever had tackled him. Dirt caught Lennox in the face.

"Colonel! Contact rear!" Epps' voice boomed and Lennox immediately spun and hit a knee, taking aim at the horrific set of large metal pincers that were coming right for him. He managed to get off two shots. The beast squealed, but its momentum carried it forward. Will flung himself to the right, rolling across the ground and back to his knees.

There was a war cry, and Will saw Sideswipe stumbling backwards. From what he could tell, the frontliner planted his back foot and rolled over it. The snarling creature hanging on to him was thrown through the roof of the cabin. The small structure exploded under the weight of the pair and Will could hear Sideswipe's string of curses as he still worked to gain the upper-hand.

The lights were frantic as both Sideswipe and Ironhide were now engaged with two separate attackers. Will took the slimmest of seconds to try and evaluate them. Each was slightly larger than Sideswipe's alt-mode, fast, and definitely coordinating attacks. That was all the observation he had time for.

Will looked to where Davies and Epps were firing on a third assailant, the light gleaming off a metallic hide as the thing hissed, muted red optics flaring slightly as the creature flailed its head. It caught Epps in the side and sent both the men flying.

Will was already running, sliding to a stop to take aim at the beast as it stalked on towards its prey. Ironhide had swung around wildly again, giving him just enough light to catch sight of that ugly, insect-like face. Taking a split second to aim for the domed, faceted eye, he fired.

The shot caught the creature exactly where he had intended, making it squeal and flinch back. Will caught sight of the high dome of the beast's back armor. It reared and Will fired a second time at the under-parts. The thing dodged though, and Will prepared himself for the retaliating onslaught. Then, he heard clicking-the same clicking as just before the attack- and the beast pivoted away.

Will turned to see Ironhide rolling on the ground after another of the fleeing creatures. He caught a rear appendage and Will could see the other five legs in Ironhide's lights. There was a squeal of metal tearing and a screech of pain as Ironhide managed to catch part of the creature's body and twist hard. The thing screamed again and hissed, flicking the foot with incredible power. The mech was knocked away and the lights rolled dizzyingly again.

The ground shook beneath their feet and the next thing will heard was curse word from Davies.

"Sideswipe!" The man was yelling and Will turned to see him calling into the woods. Correction, he was calling down a path of destruction that led through the woods. It seemed the impetuous silver mech had decided to give chase. Davies turned to Will, "Should I go after him, sir?"

"Hang on." Sideswipe had left a path a blind man could follow. But the problem was, they were in unfamiliar territory. Even with the light of the moon, the shadows were tricky and it was feasible that one of them could walk right over a steep ledge before they realized it was there.

Will activated his com. "Sideswipe, this is Lennox. Do you copy?"

Static returned. Nothing else.

"Sideswipe, break off pursuit and return to home base now." Still static. Lennox shut down the com and let a four letter word fly. "If he's ignoring me, I'm having him reformatted as a Volkswagen Beetle."

Epps was walking towards him, clearing his weapon. He was scuffed up, but apparently unhurt. "One of those little lime green ones with the peace flowers on the side?"

"Hell yes." Will replied. "You got any extra mags?"

Epps slapped them into his CO's hand. "You going after him?"

"Yeah," Will responded before shoving the magazines into one of the many pockets of his pants before kneeling down to lace his boots properly. "Go through that wreckage and find our gear. If the satellite still works, link it up and get NEST command and Diego Garcia on the horn."

"Yes sir."

A new flare of light washed over them and Lennox looked up to see a jeep rolling up towards them. A shadow popped up over the windshield and a familiar female voice called. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine."

Allison's figure slid from the passenger's side as Ben stepped from behind the steering wheel. The man looked at what was left of the rental cabin with a sense of shock and awe. "What happened?

Lennox strode forward towards the pair and looked to Ben. "I need you to guide me through the woods."

"What?" Allison asked.

"Sideswipe's out there and he's gonna need help." Will replied. "What are the closest roads northeast of here?"

"Wait, what-"

"I don't have time for questions!" Will shouted back. He hated to yell at Ben, but whatever those things were could be shredding Sideswipe while he was playing twenty questions.

Both Ben and Allison looked startled, but they recovered quickly. The woman answered first. "Route Twelve and Route Ninety-seven are northeast of here."

"How far away?"

"No more than two miles as the crow flies and you'll hit 12."

"Access roads?"

"A couple off of the highway." Ben put in.

"Fine. Ironhide," Will looked at the mech "take Davies and see if you can two can get a bead on that dumbass with your energon scanner."

The look on his faceplates clearly indicated that he didn't like it. "And what will you be doing?"

"Following the dumbass." Will replied. "Don't argue, I'll go faster without you over that terrain."

Ironhide muttered something, but transformed anyway, barking, "Davies!"

Weapon in hand, the man leapt into the open door and with screech of tires and the smell of burning rubber, Ironhide's taillights disappeared into the night.

Will looked up at Ben. "Let's go."

"I'll go." Allison said quietly as she reached back into the jeep and grabbed a backpack.

"Al-"

"Look," Will cut across Ben. He didn't have time for this. "I need someone with at least some concept of what to do in a firefight. Ben has that as a park ranger."

"He's also got a bad hip." Allison had settled the pack on her back and snapped the straps around her chest and waist.

"Damn, girl. I'm not that bad."

"I know, Ben," Allison looked up at him with a sad smile, "but it's dark out there and rocky. If you fall-"

That was all Will needed to hear. "All right, all right. Are you familiar with this place in the dark?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Fine. But here's the deal. I tell you to hide; you hide. I tell you to run; you run. Understood?"

Allison nodded, albeit a little apprehensively. "What's out there?"

"Something big and unfriendly." Will replied as he moved back towards Sideswipe's path. "And I'm honestly not sure what it is, yet."

They moved across the lawn of the damaged cabin and Allison stepped up to look at the destruction Sideswipe had inflicted. "What the hell was he after?"

"Whatever it was came after us first." Will followed her as she started down the path of broken limbs. "He gets a little cranky when that happens."

"I see that." Allison replied. "I take it no flashlights?"

"You might as well be walking around with a big neon sign saying 'Jump My Carcass'." Will could feel his eyes already adjusting to the low light and consciously made an effort to use his peripheral vision. "Besides, we wouldn't want to make it too easy."

"Even a trail like this, I don't know if I can follow it in the dark."

"You're going to have to." Will told her. "And don't let me walk off of a cliff."

"Fabulous." She said breathily as she picked up her pace.

Conversation ceased at that point as both of them put their concentration into moving as quickly as possible in the darkness. Given his physical condition, Will was sure that in the open and during the day, he could have easily outpaced the woman. But he had to admit, she moved confidently over the terrain, making almost no noise. They slid down slopes and scrambled over rocks, following the broken trees and torn earth like trail of breadcrumbs deeper into the park.

She stopped them a couple of times to find alternative routes around steep slopes and a wall of sheer rock. It took a few moments to find the trail again after, but Allison always managed it, moving back and forth in the darkness, completely at ease. Will found himself trusting her to lead as he brought up the rear, his finger never far from the trigger of his weapon.

After about twenty minutes, Will and Allison skittered down an embankment and out into a grassy path. Overhead, he caught the snap of electricity and looked up to see power lines. About a hundred feet away, one of the towers stood tall against the night sky.

"This way." Allison was a bit breathless as, she jogged beneath the lines and Will finally saw what she saw. The moon's light was more direct now and in it he could see the perimeter scrub was torn back and a few more branches were broken, leading back into the shadows of the forest.

"Where are we headed?" Will asked as he followed her up a rocky outcropping.

"East." Allison responded looking at more of the cracked trees.

"I know 'east'." Will hissed as he jogged after her. "What do we hit if we go east?"

"There's a maze of fire trails." The woman responded. "We're going to be crossing those soon."

It was only a few more minutes before the pair stepped out of the woods again, this time on to pavement. Will felt his brow furrow in confusion. They hadn't gone more than a mile and a half at the most. This couldn't be the highway. "Is this route Twelve?"

"No." Allison shook her head, her hair catching the moonlight. "Some of the fire trails were paved back in the eighties to give tanker trucks better access in case of a forest fire."

"Where to now?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Allison gasped and tensed beside him, preparing to run. He looked back over his shoulder to see a pair of blue lights hovering about fifteen feet off of the ground and quickly and steadily getting closer.

They were optics. Will gently grabbed Allison's arm. "Take it easy. It's just Sideswipe."

The outline of the Autobot became clearer as he skated closer, using his wheels on the paved surface of the narrow road. His head swung back and forth, scanning the woods around them as he shot past, turning on the edge of his tires and putting down a servo to the road to steady himself. He started back towards them at a much slower pace. "I lost 'em, Boss."

"Why didn't you answer your com?" Will called back. Sideswipe was still running hot, but the agitated, post-skirmish behaviors were subsiding. The bot was still wary and tense, but the surge of energy through his circuits brought on by the assault was abating. He still wasn't looking at Will, alertly monitoring the trees for any signs of their attackers.

His tone was clipped when he responded, still rolling around Allison and Will, patrolling and guarding as he came down off of his battle high. "Didn't get a com."

It wasn't like Sideswipe to disobey an order. Early on, Sideswipe had exhibited respect for Will and his rank, even if it was among humans. As he rolled past again, Will caught the faint blue glow of energon on the right side of the bot's head, just behind his audio.

Obviously, still running on what Will equated with adrenaline, Sideswipe had yet to notice that he was injured. Will ordered himself to use a calm tone. "Take it easy, Sides. You took a shot to the head."

"What?"

"Stop pacing." Will said clearly and slowly.

Confused the bot complied, his wheels transforming back to pedes, his momentum sending him two more strides. As soon as he stopped, it hit him. His equilibrium was off and he took a stumbling step to the side, putting a hand to his helm. The ground shook and Allison gasped as Sideswipe's knee buckled.

"Sit down." Will snapped at him, trying to get the bot's attention. He pulled Allison back to the tree line to get her out of the way of Sideswipe's stumbling.

"I'm fine." His voice was watery as he tried, and failed, to regain his center of balance.

"No, you're not." Will barked back. "Put your plate to the pavement before you fall down and squish my ass!"

"Oh Primus," Sideswipe pretty much fell to the ground, sending up a small earthquake in the process. "Then Ironhide would kill me."

Will moved forward as Sideswipe groaned and drooped his helm. Coming to stand next to his pede, the human keyed his own com and set it to speaker. Ironhide was loaded for bear, Will was sure, and he wanted Sideswipe to get the full brunt of the senior mech's tirade. "Lennox to Ironhide."

"_Ironhide: Go ahead_."

"I got 'im."

"_Is he alive?"_

"Yup."

"_Good. I'll kill him_."

"Well," Will started, "We're going to have to put him back together first. He took a hard hit to the head. His com is down and he's unbalanced."

"_More so than before?" _was the sardonic comeback.

"Oh, har har." Sideswipe grumbled miserably. "That's right. Kick me while I'm down."

Will smiled, despite himself. He called back to Ironhide "Send a message back to Epps. He should have the satellite link up, if it's in one piece. We'll send Ratchet some diagnostics. Hopefully we can patch him up here."

"_Understood. I have a lock on your signal and should be there in two minutes."_

"Copy that. Lennox out."

Allison had come forward slowly and drew up to stand beside Will. "Is he okay?"

Will knocked on the plating of Sideswipe's pede. "The lady asked how you're doing, buddy."

The Autobot groaned. "Remember that show Davies made us watch about amusement park rides? And the humans riding them purged all over themselves?"

"Yes."

"I sympathize with them greatly now."

"Let me know if that's going to happen." Will told the Autobot. "I'd like to avoid third-degree chemical burns today."

"What happened?" Allison asked quietly. "All we heard was roaring and the ground shaking. . ."

"It's a long story." Will looked up at the woman. Her face was pale in the moonlight and she shivered. "And I'm starting to think it's a good thing you called us."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note (yes again): <em>**_Based on the G1 episode, "The Insecticon Syndrome". So, who was right?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: **Just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews and visits. Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"<em>It appears that the parietal gimbals are damaged<em>," Ratchet's deep voice sounded through the satellite linked laptop perched on a picnic table. "_That would explain the disorientation_."

"A-yup," Using a high-powered head lamp, Davies visually confirmed what the scans had told them. He grinned and directed his next comment to Sideswipe. "Betcha it's playing merry hell with your gyroscope."

"Let me smack you in the head so you can experience it for yourself." The trip back had not been fun for Sideswipe. He had managed to hoist himself into Ironhide's bed, with his arms and legs spilling over the sides. The bouncing and rocking along the potholed fire road hadn't helped the vertigo he was experiencing. He had cycled down his optics, but that had done little to ease the discomfort. And, of course, Ironhide had not been sympathetic. He had kept up an unending, threat-filled lecture through the entire ten minute ride back to the cabin.

Sideswipe now sat in front in the visitor center's parking lot as Davies and Epps, both clad in specially made protective gear, climbed over his frame and assessed his injuries.

Will stood with Allison and Ben, watching in the pre-dawn light as they worked, sipping on a cup of strong black coffee the ranger had thought to make. Allison had dug up a box of granola bars she had kept in her car. Will reflected that he had had worse breakfasts and at least was having a better morning than Sideswipe.

"_How's the gyroscope itself_?" Ratchet inquired.

"Fine," Davies was elbow deep in Sideswipe's helm. "If that beastie had hit a little harder, we'd have a problem. Good thing Sides has a hard head."

"Frag you." It was rare for Sideswipe to lose a verbal sparring match, especially to a crack as weak as the one Davies had just thrown out. Further proof of just how much he was hurting.

"Go easy on him, Davies." Lennox admonished the Brit before calling Epps's attention. "What about his com?"

"No problem," Epps replied. "Loose connection. I can have it fixed in an hour."

Epps began climbing down and Sideswipe groaned. "You're going for the laser welder, aren't you?"

"Yup."

'"I _hate _that thing."

"_Davies_," Ratchet's tone was sharp. "_Be careful when you reorient the housing. If you damage it_-"

"I got it, Doc Bot." Davies's voice echoed a bit as he went back to work. "He'll be walking in circles."

Ratchet exvented, snorting at the man before yielding to Optimus Prime. The tall bot looked at each of them in turn, his deep gaze studying each of them. "_Is everyone else all right_?"

"We're fine." Will assured him. "A little tired and a lot confused, but fine."

The screen of the laptop was split and in the frame beside the Autobot leader was General Morshower at NEST command. The older man's face was serious as he leaned on the console. "_What have we got, Colonel_?"

"At approximately 0300 hours, we were engaged by three separate assailants." Will told him, speaking clearly. "We defended ourselves and drove the attackers back. Sideswipe pursued, but was unable to track them."

"_And the nature of the assailants_?"

"Unclear at this time, sir." Will hated to tell his commander that, but it was the truth. "I was able to observe one of the attackers. From what I could see, it had an exoskeleton comparable to that of a Cybertronian. It also appeared to have six legs."

"Like a bug?" Ben asked, looking confused,

"That was the comparison that sprung to mind."

"_What of the scanners_?" Optimus asked, his gravelly voice rolling over the link.

"Energon scanners still came up with nothing." Sideswipe winced as Davies tweaked something in his helm. "Neither did my biosensors."

"_So whatever they are don't run on energon_." Morshower's gaze redirected. He was looking to the link where Optimus's visage was displayed for him. "_Are there Cybertronians who don't run on energon_?"

Ratchet answered from behind the Autobot commander. "_As far as we know, all Cybertronians convert energies into energon before consuming it as fuel. Rarely, as necessity dictates they are capable of consuming raw energy to support life systems_."

"_So what's out there is not Cybertronian_." Morshower reasoned out, looking back to Lennox.

"With all due respect, sir," Will came back, undeterred by his commanding officer's stony glare, "I've seen a lot of Cybertronians and a lot of Cybertronians in battle. This looked and fought like 'em."

"And as a Cybertronian," Ironhide's voice entered the conversation from where he stood behind the humans, "I can verify that what we fought moved like us. Different, but still similar."

"Ow!" Sideswipe exclaimed. Will winced with sympathy. "I second that."

"_It sounds like we need more information on these things_." Morshower finally said. "_Any chance of finding them?"_

"We managed to pull the thermal imagers out of the cabin." Will replied. "But there are thousands of square miles to hide in."

"What about tracking them?" Allison was leaning on the rail to the porch now watching the conversation.

"_Young lady_," Morshower's voice was impatient, "_We already discussed that. The energon sensors aren't picking up any signals from them_."

"No . . . sir." Allison added quickly, clearly unnerved by the man staring her down through the laptop screen. "I mean actually reading the signs and . . . tracking them."

"You mean, like, old-school?" Epps had come back with the laser welder. "Going 'Davy Crockett'?"

"I guess." Allison replied, swallowing hard before speaking, "Look, if it will help, I can give it a try."

"_I don't want to involve civilians any more than we already have_." Morshower replied, looking doubtful that such a thing could be done at all. "_Maybe we should send in some air surveillance. Unmanned drones. We might get lucky._"

"We'd have to get very lucky, sir. The tree cover is pretty thick." Will put in. He didn't want to involve civilians, either, but from where he was standing, options were low. "I'll take Ironhide with me. It will be his priority to keep Ms. Brody safe."

The mech snorted, but didn't say anything.

Morshower sighed heavily. "_If it looks dangerous at all out there, you turn tail and run_."

"Don't have to tell me twice, sir." Allison muttered, moving away to collect her pack again.

Morshower looked back at Will. "_I'm putting the 366__th__ at Home Mountain Air Force Base on alert. But I'm not sending them out there until we know more about the nature of the targets. We'll start contacting local authorities to fill them in so they can start taking appropriate action._"

"We'll work on retrieving some intel, sir." Will replied. "As soon as we have more information, we'll be in touch."

"_Optimus_," Morshower redirected his focus. "_I suppose you'll want a ride stateside_?"

"_It would be appreciated, General Morshower_," the bot replied graciously. "_We will provide assistance to determine the nature of this threat._"

"Who's coming?" Will asked.

"_Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Mirage, and myself_." Optimus replied. "_If you obtain more information, please have it relayed as quickly as possible_."

"You got it."

And with that, each of the commanders signed off. For now, Will was pretty much on his own. Even if Morshower threw everything he had at procuring transport for the 'bots, it was still going to take them at least 18 hours to get on the ground anywhere near their current position. And, as Morshower had said, no more military personnel could be deployed and risked until they had some idea of what they were dealing with.

Epps was still on the ground when Will approached the pile of gear they had organized near the base of the steps. "All right, so what didn't get destroyed?"

"We recovered all of the extra ammo." Epps removed a thick glove to pass him some magazines for his M4. "And one of the digital imagers."

Will stowed the small, handheld device into a pocket. Epps watched him before speaking again. "You want some back up?"

"Nah," Will replied, settling the strap of his weapon comfortably across his body. "This is recon. Just get Sideswipe back to operational again."

"You got it, Boss." Epps made a twisting motion near his ear. "Check your com. You need me, call."

"I'll do that."

Epps gave him a nod before turning back to Sideswipe and Davies. Will turned to look up at Ironhide. "Ready to go hiking?"

The black mech hefted air through his vents as he turned and crossed to where Allison was crouched looking at the ground. "This better not be a waste of time, woman."

"Your faith is inspiring." Allison's eyes never left the ground.

"He's got a point." Will walked over to her and looked down. All he could see were the confused scraping and trampings from the previous night's skirmish. "I know I backed you over there with the General, but we do not have time for you to pretend to know what you're doing."

Allison looked up. "I know, this is weird. Look, Colonel, I just want to find out what these things are and get them outta here. If you've gotta better idea, I'm all ears."

The trouble was, he didn't.

After a few minutes, she started off, heading back towards the path Sideswipe had left the night before. With a shrug of her shoulders, she adjusted the pack on her back and buckled it over her hips again. With a look up at Ironhide, Will followed her curious about what provisions she saw fit to bring along. "What's in the pack?"

"First aid kit," Allison answered distractedly. "Water, food. Probably a collar from one of the wolves I finished tracking last week."

She didn't seem interesting in talking much after that and Will was content to let her focus on what she was doing. For a time, she stuck to the path they had followed the night before. Ironhide slowed them up considerably. The trees were closer and the big alien had to stoop and push his frame between a few of them. Will heard something that sounded like a curse word as bark fell on him and he heard metal scraping.

The morning mists hung heavy around them, condensing on the human's clothes and giving them a chill. Ironhide moved in a haze of his own, delicate fog as the cooler air hit his armor, warmed by the vital systems running beneath it. The mech was unperturbed as he cracked through the forest, following the humans as closely as he could.

When the trees opened a bit, Will could see the blue haze hanging in the gaps between the mountains. Around them, the woods seemed to be awakening as the first hesitant twitter of birds caught his ear. The sun was climbing higher, blinding them slightly as it peeked over ridges and from behind thick stands of trees.

They made it to the power lines in about twenty minutes. Allison moved under them again to the exact spot she had taken Will to the night before. He felt his irritation grow. This was ridiculous. In the morning light, Will would have no problem following this trail on his own. The problem was, this was _Sideswipe's _trail and not the trail of their targets. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't have time to waste and he was in no mood to support the woman's 'hero complex'.

Allison had just disappeared into the tree line and Will was about to call out to her to knock off the charade. Then, he caught sight of her back-tracking her steps and moving in a path to parallel the power lines. "This is where Sideswipe lost it."

Will moved forward with Ironhide, who also seemed less than convinced. The mech put a knee to the ground to peer at Allison through the brush, his tone doubtful and warning. "What do you mean?"

She pointed at the ground. "The one he was chasing backtracked here. It headed off to the northeast. Was it hurt?"

Ironhide narrowed his optics. "Why do you ask?"

"Uh," Allison was crouching again. "Back rear leg. It's barely touching the ground. The gait is uneven and it looks like it's having a hard time moving through here."

Looking down at Will, the mech's optics flared a bit. "That would be the one I tried to restrain."

"I'm surprised the thing outran Sideswipe as long as it did." Allison's voice held a little bit of appreciation. "It led him on just long enough and then headed off in a different direction."

From the look on his faceplates, it was clear that Ironhide finally believed that Allison had at least some semblance of what she was talking about. And that was good enough for Will. "All right. Which way?"

"Heading northeast, at least for now."

The woman stood for a moment, looking in the direction she had indicated with no small amount of concern. "This thing is weird. It's big. But whatever it is, it seems to be perfectly suited for its environment."

"How?" Will asked.

"This is hard, tracking it like this." Allison flat-out confessed. "And it shouldn't be, but it just seems to glide over the ground. There's barely disturbance in the dirt or in the needles. Without the injury to the appendage, I don't think it would leave marks on the ground at all. From your description, I thought tracking them would be a lot easier."

The woman shifted her weight back and forth, sighing gently and looking out amongst the tress. Will cocked his head to study her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, though her tone suggested she wasn't quite sure. "It's just . . . weird. I've never been uncomfortable in the woods . . . until now."

With a hesitant smile, Allison started up the slope, stopping to look at the ground. Hefting his gun, Will started after her with Ironhide shaking the ground under their feet. With each step, he was feeling the forest close in more around them, cutting them off from the outside world.

It was interesting to watch. For close to an hour, they fell into a pattern. Allison would stoop and look at the ground, move among the trees and retrace her steps before laying the next course, her brow furrowed as though trying to figure out a puzzle. When she paused, Will would take the opportunity to look around. Ironhide's sensors, he knew, were set to their most sensitive, the mech keeping a close watch on the two humans as they all made their way through the ever-darkening woods.

Ironhide spoke after a while. "Do you see evidence of the other two creatures yet?"

"No, just this one." Allison answered, distractedly. "I've been looking, but I'm not coming up with anything."

The trail seemed to wind around a bit, taking them further up the mountain. Though her movements were cautious, they were sure. Will watched her walk carefully around in a circle before crouching to look at a disturbance in the bed of pine needles.

"Where did you learn to do this?"

"What? Tracking animals?"

"Yeah."

Allison snickered a little bit. "My grandfather is an old Cherokee Medicine Man."

"Really?" Will said with a certain amount of incredulity.

Allison snorted. "No. He's a little old retired insurance salesman who lives in Boca."

Will smirked. "So, seriously. Where?"

"I interned at a nature center as an undergrad. The naturalist there taught me." Allison continued to climb. "It comes in handy. Collars get lost or they malfunction. It's nice to have a low-tech option to fall back on when Murphy is out to get you."

"Ahh, Murphy."

"Oh, so you've met him."

"We're acquainted."

"I'll bet." Allison looked back at Ironhide significantly to catch up with Ironhide. "Seems like in your situation, good ole Murphy is probably around every corner.

"You have no idea."

"Who is this Murphy, Will?" Ironhide finally asked as he trudged along behind the humans. "Do you require protection?"

"There is no protection from Murphy's Law, 'Hide." Will told him.

"Murphy's Law?" The mech asked in a questioning tone.

Allison grinned at Will for a moment before saying quite clearly. "Murphy's Law states: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."

"And usually at the worst possible moment." Will added.

"Speaking of which." Allison stopped, slowly sobering again. "I think I have an idea of where this thing might be heading."

"Where?"

Will noticed a change in their guide. While she had been distracted from her nervousness by the task of tracking their quarry, it seemed to have returned now. She was looking towards the north, her eyes flicking back and forth. "It looks like it's headed to the bluff."

"So let's go." Ironhide stepped forward and over them, heading in the direction Allison had indicated.

The look on her face made Will stop. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She answered too quickly. "Just . . . making a connection."

"Which is?"

"None of Ben's staff likes to go up there." Allison replied, "One of his interpretive rangers is really into geology, and even he won't venture out here."

"Let me guess: old legends about spirits and ghosts-"

"No." Allison cut him off, her tone quiet. "I've been up here a couple of times . . . . it's just . . .unnatural."

And with a sense of foreboding, Allison walked off.

Within a half an hour, Will found himself looking up at a wall of sheer rock and admitting that Allison had a point. This bluff jutted out from the mountain, almost bowl-like, a good hundred feet over Ironhide's head. It looked almost like a giant hand had molded the boulders like clay, pushing up from the base. It seemed to defy gravity. And Will was the first to admit that he was no geologist, even he felt that the rock formation seemed ungainly and forced, like an ugly growth that stuck out from the face of the otherwise pristine mountain.

And there was this feeling. A vibe, for want of a better word. A distinct feeling of something being slightly off. He felt his guard go up. They had to proceed with caution.

Allison had paced the base of the bluff as far as she could. The face of the rock formation dropped off suddenly to the river below about fifty yards from where they now stood. After scouring for any clue as to where the creature could have gone Allison was now standing in front of Ironhide, looking up at the rocks. "It went up."

"Up?"

"Straight up." Allison confirmed.

Will looked up. For something the size of these creatures, it was impossible to think that they had been able to make the climb. The gray rock went almost vertically from where they all now stood. Will was a little doubtful, but Allison had seemed to be making all the right calls up to this point.

The bluff was a natural fortress. He would bet even money that their guests from the night before had probably retreated to some sort of den nestled in the rocky bowl above them. Even if he was wrong, and found nothing, he was still going to have to clear the area. It was just too likely a spot to walk casually by.

He could pick out a path among the rocks that would take him up to the lip of the bluff. With a minimal amount of scrambling, he could reach the top in a matter of minutes. There was just one problem . . .

"'Hide, you're going to have to wait here with Allison."

The mech snorted. "You are not going up there alone."

"It's recon." Will insisted. "I'll be fine. But if you try to haul your metal carcass up there, you'll make too much noise."

Will knew that Ironhide saw his point, but as usual, he was going to be disagreeable anyway. "I will not wait here."

"You're here to watch Allison." Will replied, checking his weapon and pulling out the digital imager. "And she is most definitely staying here."

The woman was looking back and forth between the two of them, making the smart decision to not add her two-cent worth.

"You can't go up there without back up."

"Patch into the wireless link-up on the data recorder. That way you can see what I'm seeing." Will had already started up the rocks. "My com is on. If I need you, I'll yell."

"I told you-"

"I heard you." Will replied, through his com. "Stay put. That's an order."

There was a threat through the com, but the mech obeyed. Beside him, Allison watched Will scrabble up the rocks, holding up a hand to shield her eyes.

Will vaulted up a pile of rocks and left the pair behind him. Quickly, but quietly, he picked his way up the mountain side, placing each foot carefully as he went. About halfway up, he started gripping with his hands and pulling himself up. Small rocks and pebbles gave way beneath his feet as he continued to climb. With a quick look back over his shoulder, he could see Ironhide and Allison, now far below him. The mech's optics were narrowed as he watched him like a hawk.

Slowly, and using all of his muscle strength, Will edged himself up and over the top of the bluff. Ignoring the rocks digging into his ribs, he crawled across the hard ground and gently eased his head over the top to look down into the bowl.

There they were. Across from him, taking shelter beneath the overhang, were two of the creatures. Metal bodies gleamed in the strengthening sunlight. Will watched them with an experienced eye, noting the fluid, but still mechanical motions of their bodies. Whatever they were, they definitely were of a Cybertronian heritage.

Will kept himself flat to the ground as he took them both in, gently easing the digital recorder up to begin taking footage.

His estimate of their size had been right. They were just slightly taller than a low-profile vehicle. The one closest to him was laid out on its keel, three of its six appendages splayed around it. The nearest comparison Will could make was that it was a grasshopper. Its body was long and sleek, covered in dark brown plating that was hard to see against the shade of the rocks. The rear appendages were more strongly made than the others. If the creature was anything like an organic grasshopper, Will guessed that the plates hid an immensely intricate and powerful hydraulic system capable of catapulting the bot great distances.

The ground was littered with limbs and tree branches. Will focused in on the remains, noting the sawdust heaped in piles all around. He saw nothing of the larger bodies of the conifers, though.

The other creature seemed to be repairing the plating and housing of his counterpart. It was a beetle-like creature. From what he could tell, it was the one that had taken on Epps and Davies at the cabin the night before. The high-domed carapace was iridescent green while the underparts were a dull black. Menacing, pincer-like mandibles jutted out from its face, just beneath the facetted, compound eyes. As Will watched, the mandibles closed around something on the other creature he couldn't see. There was the sound of metal popping as the grasshopper writhed in the dirt.

" 'Hide, are you seeing this?" Will whispered into his com.

"_Affirmative_." Ironhide replied, "_Any sign of the third creature_?"

"Negative." Will came back. "Keep your eyes open for him."

"_Are you taking thermal images as well?"_

"Copy that." Will flicked the control for the device and watched as the image switched to cool blues and grays, with the creatures showing up as muted yellows and oranges. Will frowned. "That's weird."

"_Cybertronians usually flare red in thermal images_." Ironhide saw it too. "_They're systems must be functioning at a reduced capacity."_

Even still, when the beetle reared back, Will could see the deeper orange that indicated a functioning spark-chamber was heating the plates that protected it. Though they seemed to defy some of the tests and indicators, it was clear that they were dealing with a creature that at least shared some lineage with Cybertronians.

Standing and stretching, the grasshopper gingerly tested its newly-repaired appendage before moving forward and pulling a sizeable tree limb towards itself. Will watched in fascination as the mandible crushed into the bark, ripping the wood. There was a soft whirring as the mouthparts worked, grinding the wood up sending it into the creature's components. They were _eating _organic material.

"Keep your guard up, Hide." Will reminded him. "We're still missing one."

The words were no sooner out of his mouth when the clicking started again. The beetle was tapping its mandible together, sending a deep metallic ping off of the walls of the bluff. The grasshopper clearly responded, rising from the ground to follow the beetle.

"Something's going on up here."

But the insects were not headed for him. As easily as climbing a set of stairs, they moved up the rim opposite him, cautiously. " 'Hide, take Allison and move out."

Ironhide didn't respond. From his perch high atop the bluff, Will caught the sound of metal on metal and the surprised grunt. Allison's voice, high-pitched and panicked reached his ears as she yelled the mech's name.

He couldn't let them gang up on Ironhide. Feeling his blood racing, Will stood up and drew a bead on the beetle. He took aim at the joint between the neck and the head, hoping the specially made rounds in the magazine would pierce the hide of the great beast.

The shots fired in a short burst of staccato. A couple pinged off of the armor, but the last of the series clipped one of the sensitive nodes or wires between the plates. The creature hissed and redirected itself, coming for Will instead.

His heart pounded in his ears as he ran back down the way he had come up, slinging himself down the side of the mountain with reckless abandon. Above him, he heard the rocks scrape as the creature came after him, snapping its powerful jaws in an attempt to grab him.

Will fell a couple of feet to get away, landing on a ledge about ten feet below him. The beetle let its bulk slide after him, clearly intent on taking Will for a lethal ride down the cliff face. Out of the corner of his eye, Will caught sight of a bare hand hold and leapt for it. The sharp rocks cut into his hand, but he managed to keep his grip, turning his face away as the creature's metal exoskeleton squealed on the rock as it fell to the base of the bluff.

Ironhide was directly beneath him. As Will began to climb down over top of the bot, he could see the third creature, who had obviously got the drop on them, climbing Ironhide and trying to pin him to the ground. It had a long snout, under which Will could make out rows of teeth that seemed to move like buzzsaws that were coming dangerously close to the energon lines pulsing through Ironhide's neck struts. It too, had a carapace, but the dome was much shallower than the beetle. Unlike the others, this one was jet black, stem to stern.

Ironhide grunted, trying to bring his cannons to bear, but the grasshopper grabbed him at the last second, pulling the mouth of the enormous gun away from the weevil. With a savage yell, the mech rammed his helm back, knocking the grasshopper in the head.

As soon as the weevil-creature had attacked, Ironhide had obviously swooped up Allison and dumped her on an overhang above his head, effectively getting her from underfoot. She was lying flat on her stomach, covering her head when Will dropped down beside her. She gave a startled yelp as he knelt down near her shoulder, taking aim at the creature hanging from Ironhide's shoulder struts.

The shots caught the creature just where the abdominal plating met its back armor. It squealed and flew around, lashing against the mountainside blindly in its pain. Taking advantage, Ironhide grabbed for its body, trying to push it away to get a clear shot with one of his cannons.

All of the sudden the bulbous, horrid eyes of the beetle rose in front of Will, blocking his view of Ironhide. The faceted surface reflected his image back at him as the creature hissed through its vents and lunged. Will pushed Allison up and back, shouldering his weapon and firing all at the same time.

It seemed to have learned, though and rolled away. The shot missed, but the creature lost its grip on the rocks and slid down the mountain about twenty feet. It did not climb back up, instead slamming the front of its carapace against the side of the cliff.

"Whoa!" Will shouted involuntarily as the rocks crumbled beneath them, sliding down the mountain towards the creature.

Will grabbed Allison's arm and hauled her up, pushing her further up the mountain. The woman got the idea quickly, hurling herself back to the stable path and taking cover behind the rocks.

Ironhide's war-cry caught his attention and Will ducked as the weevil-like beast slammed hard into the rocks. There was a squeal and the mech pinned the grasshopper to the ground on its back plates, the legs flailing wildly as the thing writhed in his grasp. With his free hand, Ironhide reached for the nearest of the legs, trying to get a grip.

He wasn't quite fast enough. The powerful hindleg of the beast caught Ironhide in the chestplates, sending the mech flying. The other two metal insects had found their feet again and were turning away, clearly intent on fleeing into the woods. Ironhide was proving too much of an opponent for them now that he had the upper-hand.

And then it happened. The exoskeleton of the beetle flicked up with a smooth motion, transforming and converting to cupped wings. Beneath them, a second membranous material that was nearly transparent, began to beat rapidly, sending dirt and grit onto Will's eyes. Beside him, Allison put up an arm to protect her face.

The force of the wind it created was incredible and Will was only peripherally aware that the grasshopper and the weevil had deployed similar apparatus. It was so powerful, he could barely stand. All at once, Allison's words from the day before struck him. _It was like something just flew in here . . . ._

No wonder they hadn't found three sets of tracks. The other two had obviously cleared the cabin the night before and flown off. The third, wounded by Ironhide, had limped its way back. It was obviously fully functional now.

Will held up his own hand, looking for Ironhide. The mech was just picking himself up off of the ground and would never be able to get to the beasts before they took off. If they made it into the air, it would be next to impossible to find them again.

All at once, a wild thought hit him. He flipped around to face Allison, yelling above the turmoil. "Do you have one of those tracking collars?"

"What?"

"_Do you have one?"_

Allison quickly ripped the bag from her back and reached in. She fumbled for a second before yanking out the leather collar with the tracking housing attached to it.

Will grabbed it from her and took off. He knew if he thought about it too much, he'd realize how crazy it was. Pushing himself up from the rocks, he jumped up and raced down the ridgeline. The weevil was the closest to him. Timing would be everything . . .

Will put everything he had into the jump just as the creature took off, throwing himself off of the very end of the cliff. The crook of his elbow caught around the strut of the creature's back leg. Quickly, Will swung his legs up and wrapped them around the top part of the metal appendage. Hanging on with his arm, he quickly undid the collar. The strut attached to the leg was about twice the width of his arm. It would be a tight fit.

Using his legs for support, Will flipped the bulk of the collar over the strut that connected the top part of the weevil's leg to its body. Cursing, he fumbled with the bolts that apparently required a special tool to fasten. The leather slipped and slid as he fussed with them, tightening them the best he could with a thumb and forefinger as he dangled, being buffeted by the powerful wings of the flying insect robot. The force was so hard it nearly took his breath away. Finally, it seemed snug and he was satisfied that it would remain in place.

He slipped down the leg a bit and it was then that Colonel William Lennox realized that he had well and truly outsmarted himself. In the few seconds it had taken to attach the collar, the insects had climbed at least fifty feet in the air, well above the tree line. They weren't moving at jet speeds, but they weren't making bad time either, intent on gaining altitude and putting distance between themselves and one very irate Weapons Specialist.

All at once, the leg began to buck as Will tried desperately to hold on. There was a hissing and Will guessed that the weevil had just noticed that he was catching a ride on its leg. He pulled his torso up, locking his arms and legs in the vain hope that he wouldn't be dislodged. With another hiss, the creature barrel-rolled and flung its back legs out like a kicking horse.

Will's grip broke. There was the horrible feeling of complete disorientation as he spun through the air. He was falling down now as gravity snapped him in its fist. He could see the trees getting closer and closed his eyes, waiting for the branches to knock the wind out of him right before the sickeningly painful and probably lethal contact with the ground. Closing his eyes, he braced for the impact.

"Gotcha!" He was abruptly moving sideways and down now as something warm and familiar wrapped around his entire body. He opened his eyes but it was still dark. Will was still falling, but nestled and padded in living metal. He was jarred as his cocoon collided with the earth and his world spun over twice, with much snapping and cracking of wood, before a loud thump sounded beneath him. The darkness cleared and Will found himself on his back blinking as he looked up into a cloudless blue sky.

He was lying in the palm of Ironhide's outstretched servo. The mech was flat on his back as well, heaving through his vents to cool his battle hot systems. Obviously, the bot had jumped up to catch him and rolled across the ground with the effort of his attempt.

Together, they lay there, and in Will's case just enjoyed being alive and uninjured. The simple feeling of breath entering and leaving his lungs was a joy. Seriously, had the sky always been that shade of brilliant and beautiful blue?

Finally, Ironhide lulled his helm to the side to glare at Will. "You cause me a lot of trouble, Human."

Will chuckled through his panting. "Hey, 'Hide?"

"Yes?"

"Nice catch."

"Colonel!" Allison's yell caused Will to sit up and Ironhide to pick his helm up to look. The woman was leaping over downed trees and sliding down the hill. With a burst of speed, she raced down the path Ironhide had left, sliding to a stop beside Ironhide's fingers. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Will assured her as he stood up. Muscles protested a little, but when he considered the alternative, he didn't mind so much. A quick glance at the horizon yielded no sign of the insect bots. No big deal now, though. With that collar, he would be able to find them in a matter of minutes, no matter where they went in the world.

"Are you crazy?" Allison was visibly shaken up. She was pale and trembling.

"Easy." Will jumped down beside her. "Take a couple of deep breaths."

Nodding, she did as he told her. After a couple of inhalations, her breath came easier and her color came back. "You could have been killed."

Will shrugged, trying to joke and be nonchalant. "Ironhide won't let that happen."

The mech nodded solemnly. "His wife would have me stripped for parts."

Will smiled, but Allison still seemed tense. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, you gotta calm down or you're going to pass out. We need to get moving so I can relay coordinates to General Morshower."

"Colonel," Allison huffed, "I really hate to tell you this after everything you just went through, but I think you may be laboring under a misconception as to how a tracking collar works."

Will felt his stomach drop again. "What do you mean?"

"You want to track them with the GPS software that's compatible with that collar, right?"

"That's the plan."

"You're expecting to get coordinates from it in real-time, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Will replied suspiciously, "All we have to do is access the satellite's database . . ."

He trailed off as she shook her head. Finally, she said softly. "It doesn't work like that."

Will had made the assumption that GPS was GPS and it didn't seem unreasonable. The Army's GPS systems gave real-time data almost anywhere on the planet. Their transmitters were strong enough to cut through hurricanes. It should be the same with the GPS technology Allison used to track wild animals.

Right?

Ironhide had gotten to his feet and was standing over them as Will asked. "So how does it work?"

"The collar records its position via GPS and downloads it to an online database . . . every fifteen minutes."

"Every fifteen . . . ?" Will shook his head. He couldn't believe this. "Every fifteen minutes?"

Allison looked apologetic. "It's almost real-time."

"I can't call in air-strike with coordinates obtained through 'almost real-time'." Will threw up his hands, letting his temper reign. "Those coordinates will be for the collar's position _in that particular instant_. How do you know it's not still moving?"

"You don't." Allison was getting frustrated. "We're looking for patterns in movement and pack ranges over a period of months or years. We're not interested in knowing where they are every second of every day."

"Well, that's just great." Will spat back. Deep down, he knew it wasn't Allison's fault, but after what he had just gone through to place the tracking device on the creature, he couldn't help but want to loose some of his vexation. "Give me a couple of months and I'll know the migration patterns of giant alien insect bots. 'Course the trail of destruction they leave behind might be a better clue."

"If you had told me what you were going to do before you jumped off the cliff, I could have pointed out the flaws in your plan." Allison yelled back.

"Humans," through their little argument, Ironhide had remained silent. He stood over them now, giving them both a rebuking stare. "Might I suggest we start gathering what information we can from Will's plan?"

The bot was right. Any coordinate was better than no coordinate at all. No sooner had the words left his vocalizer than Ironhide was sliding down into his alt-mode. The doors swung open, Ironhide's way of telling them to get over it and get on with it. Will glanced at Allison and moved forward, climbing up into the cab and behind the steering wheel. "You're right, Hide."

Allison had been right behind him and settled in the passenger seat. The doors slammed and Ironhide's massive tires dug into the forest floor, sending dirt spraying as he took off.

A tense silence hung around all three of them. Allison clutched the door handle as Ironhide wove in and among the trees, heading back for the power line field and the fire trails. She glanced at Will a couple of times before she finally spoke again, "Believe it or not, we aren't totally screwed, here."

"I know that." Will took a deep breath. "We'll get the coordinate, relay it to Morshower and he can order air surveillance."

"I can do you one better." Allison replied. "Every tracking collar is also outfitted with a VHF transmitter. That's so at the end of the study you can trigger the signal, tune the receiver to the right frequency, pick up the signal, locate and tranquilize the animal, and remove the collar."

"Do you have the receiver?" Will asked as Ironhide slid back onto one of the paved fire trails and made for Route 12.

"All of the tracking equipment is back at the visitor's center." Allison assured him.

Will took a deep breath. "I know this is a lot to ask, but can you still help us? Epps can probably figure it out, but it's your equipment."

"Sure." Allison replied. He looked over to see a tight smile on her features. "Whatever it takes."


	5. Chapter 5

"_NEST Command is mobilized_." Morshower said through the satellite link_. "Mission has been upgraded to Priority 1. Authorities in the area are being notified as we speak. We are monitoring local airwaves for any reports of enemy sightings."_

"Understood, sir." Will responded. He had relayed back to Epps on the way back in from the bluff. By the time Ironhide had rolled in, Morshower had the NEST control staff assembled. Their communications had been upgraded. Satellites had been reassigned for their specific use and unmanned communication-relay drones were now circling the area. There would be no more need for the laptop unless data needed to be sent to Ratchet. The medic had already received the images from the data recorder and was beginning to work through it.

Will activated his com. "This is Ground Team to Big Buddha, do you copy?"

The coms were as secure as they could get, and the use of codenames wasn't strictly necessary. However, Will was fairly certain it grated Optimus's nerves just a bit when they used them. Tense situation or not, he couldn't resist giving the Boss Bot a hard time.

"_This is . . . Buddha."_ Will smiled as Epps snickered.

"What's your ETA?"

"_Transports should be arriving within twelve hours."_ Optimus's voice rolled back over the com.

"Copy that." Will replied, speaking to both Morshower and Optimus. "We will attempt to locate the targets and monitor their positions until the arrival of the support team."

"_Do not engage unless necessary."_ Morshower reminded them all. _"There is to be no contact unless risk to human life is imminent. I want this situation contained with minimal exposure and minimal contact."_

"Understood, sir." Will replied. "We'll be in touch when we have more information."

"_Good hunting, Colonel."_

After everyone signed off, Epps gathered the laptop and stowed it in Sideswipe's interior. "You really think this is going to work? We're tracking 'cons with a dog collar."

Will shrugged. "I was making it up as I went."

"Are we calling 'em Decepticons?" Davies asked. "We aren't sure that's what they are."

"They're 'cons." Epps gaze was dark. "Insects and cons."

"Insecticons?" Will offered.

"That's it." Epps pointed at him. "That's it right there."

The door to the visitor's center slammed and Allison and Ben walked down the steps to where Ironhide and Sideswipe already sat in their alt-modes. There was a different pack on her back and a computer tablet in her hands.

Davies grinned and pointed at the tablet. "Tracking big alien insects?"

She smiled back, not missing a beat. "I got an app for that."

Allison came around to the tailgate and hefted the pack from her back. She made as though to set it down on the bed. But, she stopped midway through the motion, "Uh, Ironhide, is it okay if I, you know, use you?"

Epps chuckled but Ironhide's tone was pleasantly surprised when he answered. "It is."

"What have you got?" Will came to stand beside her.

"The receiver and the antenna." Allison unzipped the bag to show him neatly folded and organized maps. Will also saw pencils, a ruler, and a compass. "Topos for the entire region."

"Good."

"We do have a problem." Allison held up the tablet. "I need an internet connection and the service out here is sketchy at best."

Epps stepped forward and took the tablet from her. Quickly, he plugged in the flat black satellite modem, took a couple of seconds to make sure it was functioning, and handed it back to her. "Courtesy of the United States military."

"Cool." Allison held the modem and the tablet in one hand while her fingers flew over the screen. She furrowed her brow for a second. "Got it! Latitude: 44.659 north. Longitude: 112.440 west. 30 miles southeast of here."

"Let's move!" Will yelled. Davies and Epps were already moving as he moved to Ironhide's driver's side. "Allison, you're with Ironhide and me."

Ben grabbed the woman in a quick hug, giving her a paternal pat on the shoulder. "Careful, kiddo."

Allison tossed her gear in the passenger's seat. "I will. I wouldn't want you to have to deal with the Montana Hunting Club all on your own."

Ironhide's tires spun, throwing gravel as he gunned his engine, spinning his rear around and tore from the parking lot.

As they went, Ironhide patched through to Morshower and Will relayed the coordinate. The general nodded. _"I'm sending you the 391__st__."_

"What have they got?"

"_F-15 Strike Eagles."_

Will ran through the specifications of the craft in his head. They would do nicely in their new bug friends got rowdy again. "Copy that. We will attempt to locate and monitor unfriendlies position until Buddha arrives with back up."

With that, they signed off. Will smiled as Ironhide gunned past Officer Thompson, once again at his post at the front gate.

Glancing to his right, Will saw Allison glaring at her tablet as if willing it to spit out the next coordinate faster. "Nothing yet?"

"No."

"At least they don't seem to be moving too fast." Will told her. "We'll be able to catch up in no time."

"Hm." Allison nodded. She was quiet for a minute as she held the modem up to Ironhide's open window. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

She took a deep breath. "Should I be freaking out right now?"

He couldn't help but chuckle. "What?"

"Wouldn't a normal person be, kind of, flipping out more?" She didn't give Will a chance to answer, prattling on. "I mean, giant insects ripping up trees? And now I'm riding around in a big alien truck trying to track them? Part of me says I should be panicking."

Ironhide spoke up. "What does the other part of you say?"

"I'm pretty sure a third of me is just numb." Allison basically grumbled as she looked back to the tablet. "The other part of me just says stop whining, live through it, and freak out later."

Will smirked. "Whaddya think, 'Hide?"

"Sounds perfectly reasonable to me."

There was a derisive snort. "I've seen you guys do some crazy shit. I don't know how comforting your opinion is."

"Then if you are crazy, at least you are in like company." Ironhide reasoned.

Further conversation was forestalled by Ratchet's voice on the com.

"_Ratchet to Ironhide."_

The mech responded quickly. "This is Ironhide, go ahead."

"_The biologist is with you, is she not?"_

Allison's eyes were wide as she looked at Will and to the radio. Ironhide was responding. "She is."

"_Ms. Brody."_ The medic's aristocratic voice addressed the woman. _"Tell me about trees."_

Allison blinked rapidly and shook her head. The simple and seemingly irrelevant question obviously threw her and she was having a hard time processing it. All she managed was an unintelligent, "Huh?"

Ratchet exvented in a way Will was familiar with. It was the mech's way of summoning patience when dealing with any organism that seemed just a little too slow on the uptake for his liking. _"Explain to me the biological function of trees."_

"Okay," it seemed that Allison's brain had overcome its momentary lapse of function. "What aspect of it?"

Will thought for sure that the question would send Ratchet into a tirade about Allison being thick, but he responded with a pleased tone_. "Metabolism."_

"Trees are photoautotrophs. They create their own food the process of photosynthesis." Allison had adopted a lecturing tone, speaking clearly. "Through metabolic pathways, they produce sugar from inorganic carbon dioxide and water using the energy from the sun. As need dictates, the tree breaks down the sugar for energy for use in other biological processes."

"_Other organisms consume photoautotrophs in order to take advantage of this stored energy?"_

"Yes. Energy moves up the food chain from there." Allison replied, looking confused at Will, mumbling. "Why does he need a lesson in seventh grade biology?"

She had seriously underestimated the sensitivity of Ironhide's com. Ratchet heard her loud and clear. When he snapped back through the com, Allison jumped a mile. _"I was merely verifying my understanding of your simple biological processes. If you must know, I believe these 'Insecticons' as you humans have begun to call them, have adapted their energy intake systems to survive on organic materials."_

"You can do that?" Allison looked amazed. "Just rearrange yourselves to suit your surroundings?"

"_The process is not unheard of in organics."_ Ratchet came back, still a little frosty_. "Are there not species of frogs that change their sex when members of the opposite sex are absent or exist in insufficient numbers for the propagation of the species?"_

"You mean Common Reed Frogs?" The biologist looked impressed by the alien's apparent knowledge of her planet.

Will couldn't help himself. "Don't let him fool you. The only reason he knows that is because he and Wheeljack have been watching a lot of _Jurassic Park _lately."

Ratchet harrumphed through the com as Allison put a hand to her forehead as if to rub away a headache.

"Talk to me Ratchet, what's the theory?" Will called out to the medic.

"_I believe these creatures, out of necessity, have adapted their systems to consume organic materials and partially consume the energy stored in them. It is not only the carbohydrates that they are converting, though. I believe they are utilizing the solar energy collected by photoautotrophic species."_

Will was intimately familiar with how the Autobots consumed energy. They existed off of energy that they converted into energon, basically a 'liquid energy' that they created with special and intricate apparatus set up at Diego Garcia. It was possible for them to consume raw, unprocessed energy from various sources, but Will's understanding was that such consumption left the mech drained and their systems unstable.

"So they're not using energon?"

"_No."_ Ratchet replied. _"The energy that they are gleaning from these sources is not nearly efficient enough to sustain their systems. They have adapted to survive, but are capable of little more than that."_

Will and Allison exchanged a look before the woman asked. "What would have caused them to exploit such a source to begin with?

"_Physiological changes as drastic as these would only be caused by extreme environmental stressors."_ Ratchet replied, _"At a time when these adaptations; the body types, the primitive flight, and the consumption of organic matter, were necessary to survival."_

"A prehistoric period in evolutionary history." Allison spoke up. "Insects first made an appearance in the Devonian Era."

"How do you know that?" Will glanced at her before looking back at the road. "How do you possibly keep all of that stuff in your head?"

"I dated an entomologist for a while." Allison explained. "Needless to say, it was a little boring."

"_Ms. Brody is quite right_." Ratchet brought the conversation back on track. _"My hypothesis is that they crash landed on Earth sometime during that period."_

Will's brain was starting to hurt with the influx of scientific jargon. "How long ago are we talking here?"

"About 350 million years ago." Allison gave him a significant look.

"Have there been any reports of deforestation like the ones at Chayton?"

"No," the woman shook her head. "At least not in North America in the last fifteen years. I would have known if there were."

The Autobots could go only a few days without a refuel. And if eating organic material wasn't as efficient for them as an energy source, what had they been existing on for so long? "So what have they been eating, Ratchet?"

"_Another part of my theory."_ Ratchet came back with a tone that suggested he was insulted that Will would even consider that he hadn't covered all the bases. _"A drastic climate change may have depleted their food sources and further stressed their system, causing them to fall into stasis."_

"Hibernation," Allison spoke with an air of someone putting the pieces of a puzzle together, "brought on by a glacial age."

He felt like he was running to catch up to Ratchet and Allison. "So these things have been asleep for millions of years because their food sources ran out when the last Ice Age hit?"

"_Affirmative."_

Will let that sink in for a minute before another thought struck him. 300 million years was a significant chunk of time, even for Cybertronians. "Doesn't their arrival on Earth pre-date the war on your planet?"

"_It does_." Optimus's voice was grave as he cut in on the com frequency. _"At that time in Cybertron's history, long distance space travel was just being realized by our kind."_

"So these creatures aren't Decepticons?"

"_They are from a time before Autobot and Decepticon factions existed."_ Optimus confirmed.

Allison looked at the com. "So what are they doing here?"

"_It is possible that they were early explorers or scientists."_ Optimus said gently. _"Like humans, we are curious beings and wished to know more about the universe."_

"Are there other possibilities?" Will asked.

Optimus was silent for a beat. _"Though these beings may be from a time before the Great War, it does not mean that they are from a Cybertron free from all conflict. Once, those who chose to disobey the rule of law were banished from the planet by way of punishment."_

Allison and Will shared a look before he asked. "What kind of rule breakers are we talking about?"

"Traitors, thieves," Ironhide responded, nearly hissing, "murderers."

"Oh, great." Allison muttered, looking back to her tablet.

"_I realize that given their behavior, you might be inclined to believe they are naturally violent,"_ Optimus spoke again, _"However, we must consider the possibility that these creatures are disoriented by their long stasis and are acting violently out of confusion."_

Will sighed deeply. He knew what Optimus was asking. If at all possible, he didn't want the Insecticons destroyed. At least, not until they were given the chance to understand their new set of circumstances. All of Will's instincts told him that these creatures were evil, no question. They had attacked his unit twice and the first time, they had actively sought them out to do so.

But it was Optimus asking and the one thing that Will had developed quickly over his time with the Autobots was a sense of empathy. There were very few of them left, at least that they knew about. Will could only conclude that if he were faced with the end of his own species, he probably would be asking the same thing.

"Just understand." Will began, "If they pose a risk to human life, I have to act accordingly."

"_I understand."_ Optimus returned gently.

"We'll just keep an eye on 'em until you get here."

"_Thank you, Colonel."_ And with that, Optimus signed off.

Allison looked up from the tablet again. "Have those things shown the slightest inclination that they want to communicate?"

Will just gave her a dubious look in return.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong> Since this is nothing more than a shameless plug, I left it until last. I've started a T u m b l r account as well as a D e v i a n t A r t account. Mostly, I'm in to photography. Wildlife and well, Transformer toys. I mainly use them to log my geocaching finds. If anyone has an account and cares to check 'em out, feel free!_

_End of shameless plug ;-P_


	6. Chapter 6

"Think she gets radio 5 on that thing?"

Will couldn't help but smirk at Davies crack as they waited for Ratchet to join them on the com. Allison was standing in Ironhide's bed holding the VHF antenna aloft and holding the bulky, box-like receiver in her hand. The apparatus really did look like an old-school TV aerial. Standing beside Ironhide, they watched as she slowly moved and rotated the device in the air, trying to catch the signal from the collar.

They were standing on a small cliff overlooking a grass-covered valley below. Through it rushed the Hotah River, a sizeable enough water way, swelled by the spring melts of snow from the higher elevations of the mountains around it. According to Allison and the maps, there was a hydroelectric dam downstream that supplied power to the small communities around the area. The river itself was a prime spot for salmon fishing.

Another coordinate had been downloaded, only a few miles from the first. Ironhide and Sideswipe had managed to get them within half a mile, finding a nice, clear spot for Allison to start trying to locate the creatures.

They could hear the distance rush of the fighter planes as they circled the area. Per Will's orders, they were flying a perimeter, and that was all. If they were needed, Epps would vector them in. But for now, they were surveillance only.

"_Home base to Ground Team." _Ratchet came over the com

"This is Ground Team, go ahead." Will snapped his attention back as his com sounded.

"_I'm afraid the manufacturer of these collars will be unable to help us." _The medic replied. "_It is the collar that generates the signal that the satellite tracks. We would need to have the device in-hand to adjust it."_

"Great." Will gritted through his teeth. "Any thoughts as to why our scanners aren't working on the Insecticons?"

"Woman!" There was a clattering on metal that made Will turn around. Allison had put a foot on the side of Ironhide's bed and was vaulting up onto the roof of his cab.

"It'll only take a minute, I promise." She said hurriedly as she grabbed up her equipment and began to go through the slow movements again.

Ironhide growled, but held still. "You're getting footprints on my roof!"

"Girl's gotta death wish." Davies grinned. "I like her."

"Al," Sideswipe sounded amused. "What are you doing?"

"The receiver can pick up the signal better the higher up it is." Allison replied, distracted. "I'm just trying to get a hit."

"Geez, hang on. Let me scan the place first and make sure we're the only ones here." There was a couple seconds of silence. Then, apparently satisfied they were alone, Sideswipe began to transform. He walked up next to the Weapon's Specialist, putting his servo down gently next to Allison. "You keep doing crap like that and Ironhide is going to eat you."

Allison stepped up, kneeling down to center herself as Sideswipe hoisted her. She was barely fazed at this point, holding the aerial aloft as Sideswipe stretched his servo up over his head.

There was a scoffing noise from Epps. "At least she ain't got a fear of heights."

"I do, actually." Allison called back. "I'm just . . . not gonna look down."

"Keep you sensors turned up, Sides." Will called up to the bot. "You're pretty exposed right now."

"Gotcha, Boss."

"Go ahead, Ratchet." Will turned his attention back to the medic.

Ratchet seemed displeased with the interruption, his tone clipped and terse. _"It is possible that the substance that their systems create from the organic matter is not energon. It probably has a lower energy yield and doesn't register on the scanners."_

The ground shuddered under their feet as Allison instructed Sideswipe to move to another location. Will watched them quietly.

"What about our own scanners? Infrared?" Ironhide spoke up to his comrade. "They should have registered on those."

"_According to the images you uploaded, these creatures are functioning at a reduced capacity." _Ratchet replied. _"Only the digital imager at close range would be able to detect any notable signature." _

Allison's voice floated down to them. "Go forward about ten more feet."

"Al, there's a cliff there." Sideswipe responded dryly.

"Oh, don't go forward ten feet then."

Davies shouldered his weapon. "I got a question: why are these things waking up now? Did something trigger them to come out of stasis?"

"_I've only come up with theories so far." _Ratchet spoke up. _"Disturbance of their hibernation site or an influx of pure energy may have rebooted their systems and caused them to awaken."_

"We found them in the middle of nowhere." Epps spoke up. "No one's been in the middle of Chayton digging it up."

"Allison?" Ironhide's deep voice rumbled.

Standing in the middle of Sideswipe's servo with the receiver against her ear, she answered with a distracted air. "Yeah?"

"Those power lines we passed while searching for the Insecticons." Ironhide continued. "How long have they been functioning?"

The woman put down the receiver, frowning a little. "Only a couple of weeks. The structures have been up for about six months, but they just completed the line and charged it earlier this month."

"You sure?" Will asked her.

"Ben pitched a fit about the whole project." Allison replied. "Trust me, I have an intimate working knowledge of the whole thing."

"Bingo." Epps said solemnly.

"Yeah, but if we follow the timetable, it wasn't the construction of the towers that woke them up." Will was aware that Allison had gone back to the receiver. "It was only after electricity started passing through those lines that the deforestation started."

"_It is possible that stasis was interrupted by electro-magnetic fields." _Ratchet broke in. _"Appropriate sources of energy would trigger a rebooting response."_

"Appropriate sources of energy?" Epps gave Lennox a confused look. "But they're eating trees now."

"_It is my belief that these organisms will not continue to feed in this primitive manner if sources of sustenance more appropriate for our species are available."_

"So, since there is energy to convert to energon, they will take that instead of organic material." Will picked up the thread before asking. "Then why are they still eating trees?"

"_Their systems may take time to revert to their original functions." _Ratchet informed them. "_Until such time as their components can handle influxes of pure energy or energon, they will need to continue to feed in the manner most effective to their current adaptations."_

Will asked. "How long until they revert?"

"_Difficult to say." _Ratchet replied. "_Could be days, months, years, or centuries."_

"We're going to have to rein them in before that." Lennox looked to Davies and Epps. "If they do revert and start attacking the power grid, we're gonna have more trouble than we can handle."

"Aw, damn it!" Allison's voice cut across them.

Will looked up to where Sideswipe stood near the cliff face. Allison leaned on her hands and looked over the edge of his servo. He called up. "What's wrong?"

"Your metal bugs have made themselves at home on the other side of that ridge." Allison pointed vaguely northeast.

"What's over there?"

Sideswipe crouched down, depositing Allison on the ground near Will and the others. The woman turned and pointed. "From the tree line and over the mountains is all federally owned property. It's managed by the United States Forestry Service."

"Is it open to the public?" Will's thoughts went immediately to the safety of any visitors to the natural area.

But Allison shook her head quickly. "It's not a park like Chayton. It is, however, open to logging companies who hold a contract to operate on federal lands."

"So, there are crews cutting down trees in there right now?" Epps asked, looking towards the ridge before turning to Will. "We're going to have to clear the area."

Sideswipe looked down at Allison. "Do you know the location of those crews?"

"It's out of my jurisdiction." She called back up to him. "I work for the state of Montana. Any record of work crews would be kept by the USFS."

Will spoke up, getting her attention. "Would you be able to find out where these crews are?"

"I could get a hold of Denny over at the USFS branch office." Allison replied, a slight tone of doubtfulness coloring her voice. "But really, companies just need to log certain areas they plan to work in. We're talking a hundred square miles."

Will sighed heavily. Once again, they were battling the sheer size of the wilderness. Even as large as the Insecticons were, it wasn't hard to lose them among the deep heart of the Montana backwoods.

Allison had crossed her arms in front of her. "So what are you going to do?"

"What Optimus asked us to do: control the situation until he can get here and try to communicate with these things. We'll hang back and monitor them at a distance. But Epps is right; we're going to have to clear the area." He squinted at Allison in the harsh light of the mid-day sun. "Call your friend at the branch office and find out where those logging companies have set up base camps."

The woman nodded, shifting the receiver to her left hand and reaching for the phone in her pocket, stepping away to find cell service. Will turned to Davies and Epps. "I want to get as close to exact coordinates on these things as we can without spooking them again. Epps, contact our flyboys and have them monitor the area for any movement."

"Gotcha, Boss."

"Let's move out." Lennox looked up at Sideswipe. "If Allison can get us locations on the work crews, I want to be close enough to supervise the evacuations."

The silver bot slid smoothly down into his alt-mode. With a roar, his engine kicked over and rumbled deeply as Davies and Epps piled in.

Will jogged over to where Allison stood beside Ironhide. The phone conversation was wrapping up as he approached. "All right. Thanks, Den."

"Well?" Will asked as she ended the call and slid the phone back into her pocket.

Allison looked distinctly unhappy as she replied. "There are two companies out there today: an outfit by the name of Big Sky and a family run operation called Chilton's Logging."

"Who's closer to the Insecticons?"

"Chilton."

"You gotta map of the area?" Will asked.

"Hang on." Allison moved back to the other side of Ironhide. She climbed up into his interior and grabbed her pack, rooting around before coming up with a neatly folded map.

Will joined her inside and helped her spread the topo on Ironhide's seat. Allison pointed to the ridgeline. "Our bug-friends are along here somewhere." She moved her finger to the southeast. "Chilton's outfit is based here."

"How close?" Ironhide asked.

Will frowned. "About half a mile."

"That is not a far distance." Before Will could answer, the big mech lurched forward, sending gravel flying as Sideswipe fell in behind him. "What is the fastest route to this base camp?"

"Pick up the highway and head east." Will fumbled for his seatbelt as Ironhide swung tightly around a bend on the mountain road.

"There's an access road in about two miles." Allison spoke up as she strapped herself in. "Chilton's camp is along it."

"You're familiar with the area?" Will asked her.

"Yeah."

There was something in the tone that made Will look at the woman a second time. "What's up?"

Allison glanced at him but wouldn't meet his gaze straight on. "Look, just for your information: Chilton's an ass."

Will snorted at the blunt statement as Ironhide asked, "What has caused you to form this opinion?"

"USFS asked me to help them investigate Chilton's company last year. They weren't sticking to harvesting parameters and basically destroyed an entire ecosystem upstate." Allison slid her sunglasses back down to cover her eyes.

Will couldn't help it. He gave the woman a sideways glance and smirked. "Captain Planet's got nothing on you, does he?"

Allison nonchalantly stared out the window as they bounced along. "I'm just warning you."

Will couldn't help but feel a little incredulous at that and the low hum from Ironhide's speaker seemed to indicate his partner felt the same. He pushed the feeling aside as he spoke to the Cybertronian. " 'Hide get me command and make sure we're patched in to the transport."

Ironhide didn't answer, but within seconds, Morshower's voice sounded over the com. _"Go ahead, Lennox."_

"Sir, we've located the targets." Will responded. "They've landed in a federally-held forest that is currently being used for logging. Request that you contact local authorities to assist in the evacuation of civilians."

"_Copy that." _Will heard the older man calling orders to one of the com technicians. "_What is your position?"_

Ironhide flew up the highway, fishtailing as he sailed into the access road. Will caught the roar of Sideswipe's engine as the Corvette gunned in behind them. "We're almost to the base camp for the company closest to ground zero. My team will begin clearing a two mile radius around the target's last know position."

"_Copy that. We'll have the locals evacuate the rest of the area." _Morshower replied. _"Do not engage unless absolutely necessary."_

"Understood." Will signed off and Ironhide shut down the com.

They bounced along the rutted access road, pulling past large piles of stripped timber, stacked neatly as pyramids, waiting to be loaded onto trucks for shipping. Loader operators and truck-drivers stopped to stare at them curiously, but no one impeded them as they moved past.

Sparse grass clung to life in places, but the topsoil was washed away. The tracks of large earth-moving vehicles scarred the land. Bright orange clay splattered up over Ironhide's grill and onto the windshield.

The next hillside had been totally stripped as well. Ugly scars marred what had once been a pristine mountain. The earth had slid down the hill during heavy rains, leaving craggy, now cracked gullies down the side. Gray rocks reflected the sun harshly back, giving the whole area a stark and vulnerable feel.

A disgusted sigh from the passenger side made Will look over. "You okay?"

"God, I hate this." Allison replied grimly as she surveyed the erosion and damage left by the machines.

"The logging?"

"Anything for a freakin' buck." She replied in answer. "Take the trees out quicker, bigger machines, bigger trucks. Who the hell cares what it does to the habitat, or the air, or the water?"

Will didn't have an answer for that, and it wasn't his job to provide one anyway. He was having enough trouble keeping large alien robots bent on world and universe domination under control. He didn't have time to worry about ethical logging practices.

But Ironhide spoke up. "It does seem rather brutal."

"Rape usually is." Allison replied with quiet disgust.

Ironhide rolled up in front of the green single-wide trailer with a large sign proclaiming "Chilton's Logging", which apparently served as the office. Will slid from the interior as Sideswipe pulled up. Over the roar of the loading equipment, Will called to Epps and Davies, "Start getting these people to clear out. I'll find Chilton and explain the situation."

Both men nodded and jogged off in different directions, making towards the people that were already starting to climb out of their machines to see what was going on.

"Who the hell are you?"

Well, at least finding Chilton had been easy. He was stocky, strongly built man with dark hair and a beard wearing a bright red-flannel shirt. The stub of a cigar was clenched between his teeth as he closed the door of the trailer behind him. He put his hands on his hips and glared at Will, waiting for the answer to his brusque question.

"Sir, my name is Colonel Will Lennox. United States Army." He quickly flipped out his military ID and showed it to the man. "I'm going to need you to recall all of your work crews immediately."

"Why is that?" The man was obviously not taking him all that seriously. He leaned back on the railing, chewed on the cigar, and regarded Will coolly.

This was not a reaction Will was accustomed to, whether he was wearing civvies or not. When he gave an order, he expected it to be followed. His men understood that. Even the Autobots understood that. The only one that could get away with going toe-to-toe with him was Sarah.

But this guy was definitely not his wife. "I'm afraid I can't disclose that information, sir. But I'm going to need you to get back in there and recall your teams, now."

"On whose authority?" Chilton asked sharply.

"General Morshower." Will replied smoothly. "If you want, we can call him up right now."

Will had gestured in the direction of Ironhide, drawing Chilton's gaze. The man's eyes went wide when he saw Allison sitting inside. "What in the hell is _she _doing here?"

Allison had heard him through the open window. She took a deep breath before opening Ironhide's door and letting herself out. "C'mon, Joe. Listen to him. You're guys are in a lot of danger out there."

"Oh, like I'm going to believe a lying bitch like you." Chilton sneered.

Will caught Ironhide's growl over the com. Whether the mech would admit it or not, he seemed to like Allison. In addition, he took the protection of humans in his charge extremely seriously and would not tolerate any act of aggression towards the woman, be it physical or verbal. Will said low into the comlink he still wore, "Easy, Big Guy."

"I am not a liar." Allison came back coolly. "You're company was harvesting outside the approved zones and taking twice the legal limit of timber. Add to that the fact your machines rolled an entire wetland out of existence-"

"That wasn't me-"

Will put his fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply to get their attention. "We don't have time for this. We need those crews brought in now."

Chilton scoffed. "If you're ridin' around with her, you can kiss my ass. This is probably some eco-terrorist trick to keep me from a day's work."

"Trust me," Allison replied sweetly, even as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "I don't need to resort to elaborate tricks to nail your ass to the wall. You've got enough infractions here-"

"Allison." Will said sharply, stopping her tirade.

But Chilton picked up again. "You really expect me to call in my guys on your say-so without telling me why? You yuppies rolled up here in a goddamn _Corvette._"

"Sir-" Will's tone held no room for argument, but Chilton flipped him off as he pushed off the railing.

He flicked the stub of the cigar at Will's boot. "Go to hell, _Colonel._"

"Enough of this."

A flagrant disrespect aimed at Will was Ironhide's last straw. Before Will could register what was about to happen, he heard the familiar sound of Ironhide's mechanisms whirling as the big mech transformed fluidly and quickly. The glossy black frame fell over he and Allison as Ironhide rammed his fist into the ground within feet of Chilton, shaking the earth so hard that Will's knees buckled. Snorting at Chilton, Ironhide leaned in to glare at the human. Will could only imagine those intense blue optics boring into the man and did not envy him his position.

The air rattled through Ironhide's intakes as he ground out. "Where are your work crews stationed?"

For a fleeting second, Will thought for sure that Chilton was going to drop dead from fright and shock. Instead, with a shaky hand, he pointed towards the horizon. "Gr-gray's Ridge."

Allison looked rattled, still unaccustomed to Ironhide's intensity. But she stood back up from where she crouched on the ground as the mech withdrew. "That's not far from the Insecticons."

"How many men are up there?" Will asked.

Chilton's eyes didn't leave Ironhide's face. His voice took a higher pitch as he stuttered. "Tw-twenty!"

Ignoring the workmen who had formed a healthy perimeter around them, Will moved over to Sideswipe. Any other time, the sight of twenty full grown men gawking and stammering in disbelief would be cause for amusement. But right now, Will was all business.

He knocked on Sideswipe's window and the mech opened the door. "Have you got an extra com?"

"Forward compartment." The glove box flipped open, revealing the earpiece.

Will grabbed it and trotted back to Allison, handing the device to her. "Stay here. Set up the receiver. Call us if they move."

She nodded as she took it, still looking a little scared. "Okay."

Above him, Ironhide was already pulling out weapons and ammunition, lowering them towards Will. Epps and Davies grabbed their own guns as they returned. Epps reported. "Area's clear."

Will nodded towards Ironhide."Mount up."

Ironhide transformed back to his vehicle mode, Epps and Davies launching into the bed of the Topkick before the mech had finished the process. Epps gently braced his weapon against the roof of the cab while Davies knelt down beside him, covering Ironhide's offside. Will swung up into the cab, checked his own weapon, and called to his comrade. "Let's go."

Ironhide lurched forward, aiming towards the track dug by the large machines that had already traversed the mountainside. Will tried to control his bouncing as the com sounded. _"Morshower to Lennox." _

"Go ahead, sir."

"_Local authorities have cleared the other logging company from the area."_

"We had a little trouble with Chilton." Will reported. "But we're on our way up to clear the work crews out now."

"_Copy that. I'm sending them your way."_

"Understood. Lennox out."

"_Colonel?" _

Allison's voice came back over the com before Will could sign off. "Go ahead, Allison."

"_A new coordinate popped up." _She reported. _"The Insecticons have moved closer to the work site."_

"Are they still moving?"

"_I don't know." _Allison replied, sounding nervous. _"We're too close for me to use the VHF receiver now."_

Will swore softly, hoping Ironhide's com didn't pick it up. "Don't worry about it, Al. We're almost there. Did Chilton notify his work-site foreman of the evacuation orders."

"_Yeah." _Her tone changed and she sounded as though she were trying hard not to laugh. "_He got on the horn right after he changed his pants."_

Will couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but he didn't have time to ask. "Sideswipe."

"_Here, Boss." _

"Take point." Will told the frontliner. "Do not transform unless absolutely necessary."

There was a knowing snicker and a "_Copy that." _before the com cut out. The Corvette tore up and around the Topkick as Ironhide slid over to give his comrade room. Sideswipe's tires sent clay flying as he swung back in front of Ironhide.

"I suppose that goes for me as well?" Ironhide asked distracted, but slightly amused, too.

"I'm not going to reprimand you, if that's what you're waiting for." Will squinted in the sun streaming through the windshield. "You got us the information we needed."

"I'm glad you see it my way."

Will didn't have time to retort. Even within Ironhide's cab, he felt the ground shake under him. The mech growled and swerved, trying to keep his tires to the dirt.

"_Colonel!" _Allison was yelling through the com. "_The Insecticons attacked the work crew!"_

The roar of Ironhide's engine filled the cab as he accelerated.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note: **__Sorry about the absence, all. I had to crochet a penguin . . . don't ask. Okay, well, that AND Sideswipe and I are having WORDS. I was having a hard time reasoning him out for this chapter. And I'm not sure why._

_Hey, Foxbear! I put something in here for ya! A little reference that will hopefully make you laugh. Sideswipe needed a call sign- nuff said :-P_

_Yes, I has 'a silly' tonight._

* * *

><p>"Get the civilians clear!" Will yelled into his com. "Once the area is evacuated, Epps, vector those fighters in. Tell 'em to just drive them back unless they pose an immediate threat to human life."<p>

There were affirmative responses from both Davies and Epps before the battle controller started relaying instructions to the fighter pilots that were in-bound. He felt his heart beat faster as he checked his weapon and readied himself to hit the ground running.

Sideswipe's tires sprayed dirt as the frontliner veered around the final turn, moving to evaluate the situation before throwing himself into the fray. Ironhide cleared the curve, hot on his taillights.

Dust and dirt filled the air as the workers ran in all directions, trying to get out of the path of the Insecticons. Through the grit, Will caught sight off all three of the Insecticons. As before, they seemed to be completely out of control, destroying everything in their path as they advanced.

Before Ironhide even stopped, Davies had launched himself over the side of the bed and crouched, drawing a bead on the closest creature. It was the beetle and it was tearing up a truck full of logs, rooting underneath the thing to try and roll it over. Men were fleeing in all directions, but many were making for the truck parked down the slope and would be crushed by the huge logs.

Davies's shots covered Sideswipe as the mech transformed, throwing himself into his root mode and propelling his frame over the workers. The humans yelled in fear, unsure if the newest 'monster' was an attacker or an ally. The silver mech caught the beetle under the head, pushing it back and away from the vehicle.

Ironhide threw open his door and began transforming even as Will jumped from the cab. Epps was right behind him and the two men took up positions of supporting cover fire while the two mechs pushed the Insecticons back.

The panic was rising in the civilians, causing them to run blindly, pushing and running into each other in their fervor to escape. Will had to bring them back to their senses quickly before they killed each other. His tone was still urgent as he called to them, but he hoped it was assuring and confident.

It worked. Will's authoritative voice cut through the mire of their fear and brought them back to their senses. They changed direction, almost as one and sprinted towards where Davies, Epps, and Will were laying down cover fire.

Will took a few seconds to watch Ironhide. With an almighty battle yell the mech tossed two of the creatures aside, handling them easily, now that he had seen them in action, using his knowledge of their tactics and frames to exploit their weaknesses.. Sideswipe was doing likewise with the third creature. Both of the larger mechs were pulling their punches though, trying to subdue rather than do actual damage.

Giving a shout to Epps and Davies to keep the Cybertronians covered, Will turned. An older man had skidded to a stop near him. He had no idea if this was the site foreman or not, but he had to ask someone. "Is everyone clear?"

The man gasped for air, hunkering down behind a stack of logs. "I dunno. Everyone scattered."

Chilton had said twenty, but Will had only counted up about twelve workers. There was still no way to call in an airstrike unless he was absolutely sure all civilians were clear. He ground his teeth in frustration, but spoke calmly to the man. "Get your guys back to base camp. We'll cover you."

The ground shook beneath their feet as Ironhide threw the weevil down and turned for the beetle. The weevil was slow to get up and Will knew it was only a matter of time before the outmatched Insecticons took off again. He turned to the old man. "Go!"

Looking around, he caught sight of Epps, still covering Sideswipe. "Vector those fighters in and tell them to visually track these things for as long as possible if they take off."

Epps nodded, tapping his com to establish the connection. Will knelt down, preparing to return cover fire if it was warranted. The grit and dirt filled the air as the aliens thrashed around. He squinted his eyes, catching glimpses of silver and black armor, hearing the crashing of metal on metal as the Insecticons came back viciously.

The roar of jet engines in his ears made Will look up, catching sight of the F-15's that screamed overhead. Epps was yelling into his com again, but Will didn't have time for his brain to try and make sense of the words. There was the grating noise, the clicking again, before the grasshopper leapt straight up into the air.

Epps was yelling a warning to the pilots, but he was too late. The creature had latched on to the undercarriage of the jet before the pilot could react, plastering itself to the plane's skin and making a shot by another member of the squad utterly impossible. They were already well out weapons-range of the soldiers on the ground. Lennox, Davies, and Epps could only watch helplessly as the plane was gutted, lurching hard to port before the canopy popped and the pilot was ejected. The grasshopper took the shell of the plane to the ground and Will ordered everyone down as it hit the ground, sending up explosions and dirt.

"Call 'em off!" Will shouted back to Epps. The man was already redirecting the fighters. Will kept one eye on the battle as the grasshopper returned, aiming for Sideswipe. The silver frontliner growled, accepting the challenge as the creature hissed at him.

The scream of the engines overhead caught Will's attention for a second time. The pilots were cutting a wide, cautious arc, but it was still too close for his liking.

There was a clacking from the grasshopper as it turned its attention heavenward once again, planning to try the same trick a second time.

"Concentrate fire!" Will yelled to Davies and Epps. The two soldiers complied immediately, but Will knew it was too little too late.

The ground shook hard under their feet and Will registered the heavy pede-falls of a Cybertronian. A flash of silver caught his eye as Sideswipe threw himself at the grasshopper just as it launched itself into the sky.

"Not happening, Ugly." Sideswipe punched the creature hard, wrapping his other arm around the creature's head.

The grasshopper bucked and squealed, panicking and taking flight to try to escape the crazy frontliner. The angry mech held tight, though, wrapping his legs around the Insecticon's thorax and locking the tip of one pede behind the heel of the other. Even with Sideswipe's added weight, the creature managed to take off, rolling and tumbling through the air as it gained altitude and headed south.

"Boss!" Epps's call brought his attention back to the battle at-hand. The weevil and the beetle were flailing wildly, unnerved by their brethren's hasty departure. With an eardrum-shattering roar, the beetle slammed hard into Ironhide's patellar struts, sending the mech flying, rolling across the red ground.

Epps, Davies and Will started firing again, but the Insecticons seemed more concerned with following their comrade then standing and fighting. Their wings deployed and they sprang into the air, heading in the direction the grasshopper had departed.

Will swore and keyed his com already running towards Ironhide. The mech was slow getting up and Will wondered if he was damaged by the Insecticon's lucky shot. "Sideswipe, come in!"

What came back over the device was a string of colorful curses, both Cybertronian and human. When he finally did respond, it was with an insubordinate, _"I am busy here, Boss!"_

Growling back at the now silent com, Will turned just as Ironhide got to a knee. The mech's mood seemed to mirror the human's. "Let's go find the stupid fragger."

The transformation process wasn't as smooth as it normally was. Will felt worry niggle at the back of his mind as he watched Ironhide complete the process, catching a swatch of Cybertronian that did not sound acceptable in polite company. The mech was sore, no doubt.

Will vaulted into the cab just as Davies and Epps entered. Before he could even ask, Epps keyed his com again. "Ground Team to Raider 1, come in."

"_Raider 1, go ahead." _ The squadron leader came back quickly over the com. Will looked through Ironhide's windshield, catching sight of the fighter planes as the mech began to roll out.

"Requesting a visual on the bogies and the friendly hitching a ride. Codename: Tin Man."

The planes roared overhead as Ironhide's tires ground into the dirt, swinging his back end around. _"Heading south-southeast at about 80 knots. Tin Man still holding tight."_

"Tell them to maintain visual, but don't get too close."

Epps relayed the instructions as Ironhide flew back down the access road. Behind him, Davies shifted in his seat to lean forward so both Will and Ironhide could hear. "So what was the point of that attack? What were the Insecticons after?"

"Maybe a supply of fresh food." Will replied, grabbing for the 'chicken handle' above Ironhide's door as the mech rollicked along. "There were a lot of logs lying around that they didn't have to worry about taking down themselves."

"Or perhaps the humans wandered too close to their position and surprised them." Ironhide responded. "Either option is feasible."

Will knew that Ironhide was trying to defend the actions of the Insecticons in some small measure. Though the mech had expressed doubts about the Insecticons merely disoriented, a part of him still wanted Optimus to be right; they were not the threat everyone feared them to be.

"_Raider 1 to Ground Team." _ The voice on the com cracked urgently. _"Tin Man is down! Repeat: Tin Man is down!"_

Epps' voice was strained as he responded. "Copy that Raider 1. Vector us in. Maintain visual on bogies."

Will only heard half of what the squadron leader was saying as Ironhide swung back out onto the highway. The mech had heard quite clearly what the pilot had reported and really, that was all that mattered. The three soldiers were jostled hard in their seats and Will heard Epps swear.

Ironhide was screaming down the road they had taken to get to the logging site. Will braced back in the seat as the Topkick tore across a bridge spanning the Hootah River and bore hard to the left, cutting off an old lady in a late-model gray Chrysler.

"Take it easy, 'Hide." Will tried to be soothing, but it was hard through clenched teeth. He could already hear the ass-chewing coming from Command about this incident. Pushing that worry aside, he keyed his own com. "Lennox to Sideswipe, do you copy?"

"_I hear you, Boss." _The bot's tone was more reasonable than their last communication.

"Are you all right?"

"_Affirmative." _There was a static snort on the line. _"Just taking a bath." _

Ironhide had hit his patience limit and broke across Will. "Where the hell does that mean?"

"_I lost my grip on the Insecticon right over the reservoir." _ Sideswipe came back. Will looked out the window. He could see the sun dancing on the surface of the water through the trees from the ridge that the road was following. It was right below them and if they continued along the highway, it would dump them out along the north shore.

Will continued to scan the area as he spoke. "We're on our way. Can you get a lock on 'Hide's signal."

"_Heading towards you now." _Came the reply.

Ironhide had just swung onto the road running near the reservoir when Epps's com sounded again. _"Raider 1 to Ground Team. Bogies have gone to ground."_

"Damn it." Will swore and Ironhide growled.

Epps was responding. "Can you maintain visual?"

"_Negative." _The squad leader responded. _"Tree cover is too thick."_

"Get the Insecticons last know position and put our birds on a search grid." Will sighed as Ironhide began to slow, picking up on Sideswipe's com signal. Epps nodded as Will activated his own com. "Lennox to Allison: do you copy?"

"_I'm here, Colonel."_

"Is the tracking collar still transmitting?"

"_It seems to be. The next coordinate is do up in the next minute or so." _The woman responded. _"Where are you guys?"_

"Picking up Sideswipe." Will replied. "As soon as that coordinate comes through get on the horn and tell me about it. Lennox out."

Ironhide pulled down on the rocky beach that lined the reservoir just as Sideswipe's helm became visible just beneath the surface of the water. In the distance, Will could see the large, square structure of the hydroelectric dam jutting out from the side of the mountain. The sharp lines of the structure cut a stark contrast with the wilderness around it. Faintly, he could make out the sound of rushing water falling over the wall.

Will jumped from Ironhide's cab just as Sideswipe's torso rose from the depths. The mech looked distinctly unhappy as water streamed from his transformation seams, splattering on the rocks along the shore. There was a ripple through his armor as he shook his plates, spraying the humans and Ironhide who warbled a warning in Cybertronian as he rolled back a length. Ignoring him, Sideswipe blew water from his vents, spraying Epps and Davies. The combat controller cursed violently, which was of course, exactly the reaction Sideswipe had been hoping for.

Knowing he was setting himself up, Will walked towards the silver alien. "Are you crazy?"

Sideswipe cocked his head, smirking down at Will. "What can I say? I want to be just like you when I grow up."

Will shook his head. "Let's go. The fighters spotted the Insecticons just east of here. Allison will be able to provide us with a coordinate any second now."

Suddenly, the blaring of alarms broke the stillness of the morning. Will spun around and looked in the direction of the dam. Even at this distance, he could see one of the tall towers falling and the power lines running from the facility sparking.

The Insecticons were attacking the power plant. It seemed the system reversion Ratchet had promised was happening more quickly than any of them had feared.

Sideswipe stepped over him, throwing himself down into his vehicle mode. Will's com crackled in his ear. _"Don't think we're going to have to wait that long, Boss!"_

Ironhide's engine revved as the humans raced back and climbed in. The high-pitched warbles of Cybertronian pricked Will's eardrums as he climbed up. Ironhide was already relaying this latest development to Ratchet. Will had likewise hit his own com, patching in to NEST command and filling Morshower in on the situation.

"_I'm having the area evacuated and sending ground support!" _Was Morshower's quick response before the com shut down.

As the Topkick tore off after the Corvette, Epps turned sideways in the seat to talk to Will. "We just went to a whole new level."

"Yeah, no kidding." Will replied as Ironhide closed the distance between his grille and Sideswipe's taillights.

Davies poked his head over the front seat between Will and Epps. "The coordinates the fighters gave us were well to the east."

"They must have doubled back." Epps put a hand on the dashboard to steady himself.

Davies was silent for a second before asking in a tentative voice, "Do you think they did it on purpose? To lose the fighters?"

Will looked back at the Brit. It was a plausible scenario. But it would be the first play the Insecticons had made that seemed to have any real thought or strategy behind. Will felt his stomach clench. If this were more of a tactical strike, it would lend credence to the theory that the Insecticons were not likely to cease their hostilities.

As the chatter began over the coms, Will spared a few seconds to pray he was wrong.


End file.
